title: Chemical composition, and cytotoxic, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of the essential oil from ginseng leaves.
abstract: Panax ginseng C.A.Meyer is one of the most valuable traditional Chinese medicines. In this study, the essential oil of ginseng leaves (EOGL), collected using hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC/MS, contained a complex mixture of aliphatic (69.0%), terpenoid (21.5%) and aromatic compounds (2.4%). Among 54 components identified, the major ones were palmitic acid (36.1%), beta-farnesene (15.4%), linoleic acid (9.8%) and phytol (5.6%). In the cytotoxicity study, EOGL exhibited obvious cytotoxic activities against different cancer cell lines, including Hela, A549, ZR-75-1, HT-29, SGC7901 and B16 cells. Furthermore, Annexin V-FITC/PI staining assay indicated that EOGL can induce late apoptosis of ZR-75-1 cells, and the percentage of apoptotic cells increased in a concentration-dependent manner (0.9% to 5.6% and 67.4%). In addition to this, we also found that EOGL exhibited weak DPPH radical scavenging (12.0 +/- 0.4 mg/mL) and ABTS radical scavenging activities (1.6 +/- 0.1 mg/mL), and showed antibacterial activity against the Gram-positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis, and the Gram-negative bacterium, Escherichia coli. The data suggest that EOGL, which possesses important biological activities, especially significant anticancer activity, could be a potential medicinal resource.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Liwei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Yanbing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jianzeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xiaodan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Daqing
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005894:Panax / Q000737:chemistry*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry*; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D000975:Antioxidants; D009822:Oils, Volatile; D010938:Plant Oils