Extraction, Chemical Compositions and Biological Activities of Essential Oils of Cinnamomum verum Cultivated in Vietnam

Cinnamomum verum (Cinnamomum genus) essential oil is commonly used in food preparation and traditional medicines, with a broad spectrum of biological activities. However, research on the extraction of essential oils (EOs) from C. verum cultivated locally in Vietnam is currently limited. Therefore, in this study, the chemical compositions and bioactivities of EOs from the bark and leaves of C. verum collected from the Thai Nguyen and Yen Bai provinces of Vietnam were investigated. The EOs samples were extracted by using water distillation, organic solvent (n-hexane) and ultrasound-assisted (in n-hexane solvent) extraction methods. The chemical composition of the obtained EOs were analyzed by GC-FID and GC/MS analyses. Results showed that the major chemical compositions of C. verum EOs were: (E)-cinnamaldehyde, trans-cinnamic acid, cinnamyl acetate, and benzaldehyde. Furthermore, C. verum EOs exhibited inhibitory activities against two tested cancer cell lines and four bacterial strains. These findings provide essential knowledge about the potential application of C. verum EOs cultivated in Vietnam for the pharmaceutical industry.