In vivo toxicity and antitumor activity of essential oils extract from agarwood ( Aquilaria crassna )

Background Aquilaria crassna has been used in traditional Asian medicine to treat vomiting, rheumatism, asthma, and cough. Furthermore, earlier studies from our laboratory have revealed that the essential oil extract from agarwood inhibited colorectal carcinoma cells. Despite of the wide range of ethno-pharmacological uses of agarwood, its toxicity has not been previously evaluated through systematic toxicological studies. Therefore, the potential safety of essential oil extract and its in vivo anti-tumor activity had been investigated.