Chemical compositions of Litsea umbellata and inhibition activities

Abstract Litsea umbellata (Lour.) Merr. is a plant commonly grown in Vietnam and some Asian countries. The plant is used in traditional medicines and exhibits significant biological activities. However, the sesquiterpenes’ extraction in the essential oil (EO) of L. umbellata harvested from the northern region of Vietnam has been limitedly known. Therefore, in the present study, the L. umbellata leaves and stem EOs were obtained by hydrodistillation method, then determined for the phytochemical profile by using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry system, and investigated the cytotoxicity activities against five cancer cell lines. Results have identified a total of 21 and 26 compounds in the EOs of L. umbellata leaves and stem, respectively, with the main sesquiterpene compounds being β-caryophyllene (16.87–11.04%), (+)-spathulenol (9.74–6.57%), β-caryophyllene oxide (26.12–18.34%), and (−)-spatulenol (11.08–8.8%). L. umbellata leaves exhibit significant anti-cancer activity with IC50 values ranging from 29.58 to 62.96 µg/ml. Otherwise, L. umbellata EOs also exhibited the good inhibition activities against DPPH free radical and three bacteria strains. The chemical constituents and cytotoxicity activity of L. umbellata EO stems have been reported for the first time and provided the future applications of this plant.