Chemical composition and antioxidant, antimicrobial, enzyme inhibitory, and antiproliferative activities of Lindera communis leaf essential oil

Lindera communis is a medicinal and aromatic plant widely distributed in China. Its leaves are rich in essential oil (EO), but the reports on biological activities of the leaf EO are limited. This study aimed to analyze the chemical composition of L. communis leaf EO and evaluate its different biological activities. The leaf EO was obtained by hydro-distillation and analyzed by GC-MS and GC-FID. 53 compounds were identified, representing 96.80% of the total composition. The major compounds included germacrene D (28.34%), bicyclogermacrene (21.07%), germacrene B (6.14%) and spathulenol (5.73%). SC50 values of L. communis leaf EO in DPPH and ABTS assays were 252.36 and 34.25 mg/mL, respectively, indicating inactivity in antioxidant effect. MICs of L. communis leaf EO against Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis were 25 mg/mL. Of four enzymes, inhibitory effects on tyrosinase and butyrylcholinesterase were observed, with kojic acid equivalent (KAE) and galanthamine equivalent (GE) values as 22.89 +/- 1.38 mg KAE/g of EO and 67.13 +/- 0.99 mg GE/g of EO, respectively. L. communis leaf EO also demonstrated strong antiproliferative effects on MCF-7 and HepG2 cells. At the concentration of 500 mu g/mL, the cell viability of MCF-7 cells was only 4.86%. L. communis leaf EO could find its possible use in cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.