Composition, in-vitro anticancer, and antimicrobial activities of the leaf essential oil of Machilus mushaensis from Taiwan.

This study investigated the chemical composition, in-vitro anticancer, and antimicrobial activities of the essential oil isolated from the leaf of Machilus mushaensis from Taiwan. The essential oil was isolated using hydrodistillation in a Clevenger-type apparatus, and characterized by GC-FID and GC-MS. Forty compounds were identified, representing 100% of the oil. The main components identified were n-decanal (61.0%), and alpha-cadinol (20.8%). The oil exhibited cytotoxic activity against human oral, liver, lung, colon, melanoma, and leukemic cancer cells. The antimicrobial activity of the oil was tested by the disc diffusion and micro-broth dilution methods against ten microbial species. The oil exhibited moderate growth suppression against Gram-positive bacteria and yeast with inhibition zones of 25-29 mm to MIC values of 375-500 microg/mL, respectively. alpha-Cadinol was found to show promising anticancer and antimicrobial activities.