AI Article Synopsis

  • The leaves of Cupressus lusitanica Mill. are traditionally used for medicinal purposes in Cameroon, and this study analyzes their essential oil for antimicrobial properties.
  • The essential oil was extracted, analyzed for chemical composition, and tested against various bacterial and fungal species, revealing that it contains 49 compounds, with germacrene D being the most abundant.
  • Strong antimicrobial activity was observed against certain pathogens, but there are concerns regarding its toxicity, indicating it should be used cautiously despite its potential benefits in treating conditions like whooping cough and skin infections.

Article Abstract

Background: The leaves of Cupressus lusitanica Mill. are used in the western highlands of Cameroon for their medicinal property.

Methods: The leaves of this species were collected in the West Region of Cameroon in August 2010 and subjected to hydrodistillation to obtain the essential oil. The oil was fractionated using adsorption column chromatography. The chemical composition of this oil and its fractions was analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The essential oil and fractions were tested for antimicrobial activity against eight bacterial species and six species of Candida by the agar diffusion method. Macrodilution method was used to determine the minimum inhibition concentrations (MICs) and minimum bactericidal and/or fungicidal concentrations (MBCs and MFCs). The toxicity profile of the oil was studied using Swiss mice and Wistar albino rats.

Results: Forty-nine compounds were identified in the essential oil. The main components were germacrene D (18.5%), epi-zonarene (8.2%), cis-calamenene (8.2%), terpinen-4-ol (6.3%), linalool (6.0%) and umbellulone (6.0%). Enterococcus faecalis, Proteus mirabilis and Candida albicans were most susceptible to the oil (MICs of 1.25 and 0.16% for bacteria and fungi respectively). The estimated oral LD50 was 6.33 g/kg. There was an increase in sera ALT and AST activities while the blood cells and protein levels decreased in treated animals.

Conclusion: The results obtained from this study support the ethnomedicinal use of C. lusitanica leaf oil in the treatment of whooping cough and skin infections though it should be used with care. This plant oil could be useful in the standardisation of phytomedicine.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3687683PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-6882-13-130DOI Listing

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