Chemical composition and preliminary investigation of anticancer property of essential oil extracted from hydrocotyle bonariensis lam. (araliaceae) against vulvar squamous cell carcinoma (ca 431)

Hydrocotyle bonariensis is used in traditional Ivorian medicine for treating degenerative diseases. To the best of our knowledge, the essential oil from its leaves has not been extracted and the cytotoxicity of the plant has not yet been sufficiently explored. The chemical constituents of the essential oil were identified and its in vivo anticancer activity against Vulvar Squamous Cell Carcinoma (CA 431) were investigated. The gas chromatography coupled to a mass spectrometer (GC-MS) was used to analyse the essential oil. The MTT assay was then carried out to evaluate the cytotoxic effects of this essential oil against Vulvar Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Fifty-two compounds related to 99.71% of the total oil, were characterised. The major compounds were β-pinene (39.25%), α-pinene (31.41%), caryophyllene (8.61%), humulene (3.11%), germacrene D (3.07%) and α-farnesene (3.03%). Additionally, the essential oil revealed promising anticancer activity with IC50 value of 15.5 μg/mL against Vulvar Squamous Cell Carcinoma (CA 431). This in vitro study provides information on the chemical composition of the essential oil from Hydrocotyle bonariensis. This oil exhibited important antiproliferative activity against Vulvar Squamous Cell Carcinoma (CA 431). It could be used as a new source of anticancer drug discovery.