Identification of bioactive compounds and cytogenotoxicity of the essential oil from the leaves of Kunth.

Kunth, popularly known as "quince" and "velame," contains a high concentration of volatile oils in the leaves, and widely used in folk medicine as an antiseptic, analgesic, sedative, anti-inflammatory, spasmolytic and local anesthetic. The objectives of this investigation were to (1) identify the phytochemical compounds and (2) assess the cytogenotoxicity of the essential oil extracted from the leaves of Kunth. The oil was extracted utilizing hydrodistillation and phytochemical profile determined using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GCMS).