Essential oil analysis and anticancer activity of leaf essential oil of Croton flavens L. from Guadeloupe

The leaf essential oil of Croton flavens L., a native plant from the Caribbean area used in traditional medicine, was extracted by hydrodistillation. The composition of the volatile fraction of this essential oil was determined by GC and GC–MS analyses. We have identified 47 compounds, of which viridiflorene (12.22%), germacrone (5.27%), (E)-γ-bisabolene (5.25%) and β-caryophyllene (4.95%) are the main components. The anticancer activity of this extract was tested on human lung carcinoma cell line A-549 and human colon adenocarcinoma cell line DLD-1. Croton flavens leaf essential oil was found to be very active against both tumor cell lines, with a GI 50 of 27 ± 4 μg/ml for A-549 and 28 ± 3 μg/ml for DLD-1. Three compounds identified in the leaf essential oil, α-cadinol (3.97%), β-elemene (1.53%) and α-humulene (1.06%) are cytotoxic against tumor cell lines.