Antioxidant and anticholinesterase activities of essential oils of cinnamomum griffithii and C. macrocarpum

Abstract

The essential oils of Cinnamomum griffithii and C. macrocarpum were analyzed by GC and GC-MS and evaluated for their antioxidant and anticholinesterase activities. The essential oils of leaf and bark of C. griffithii were characterized by the presence of 30 components, with methyl eugenol (38.5-43.8%) as the major component. A total of 11 components were characterized in the leaf and bark of C. macrocarpum essential oil with the most abundant component was safrole (54.5-59.5%). The bark oil of C. griffithii demonstrated significant activity on DPPH (IC50 73.4 μg/mL) and a high phenolic content (192.0%), while the leaf oil inhibited oxidation of β-carotene/linoleic acid with an inhibition value of 65.5 μg/mL. Acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibition were assessed and the results showed that C. macrocarpum bark oil exhibited significant activity with inhibition values of 55.8% and 66.1%, respectively at a concentration of 1 mg/mL.