Epaltes australis Less. has been traditionally used to treat fever and snake bites, whereas Lindera myrrha (Lour.) Merr. is well-known for addressing colds, chest pain, indigestion, and worm infestations. This study marks the first report on the chemical compositions and biological potentials of essential oils extracted from the leaves of Epaltes australis and Lindera myrrha. Essential oils obtained by hydro-distillation were analysed using the GC/MS (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry). E. australis exhibited a predominant presence of non-terpenic compounds (46.3 %), with thymohydroquinone dimethyl ether as the major compound, constituting 44.2 % of the oil. L. myrrha leaf oil contained a good proportion of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (56.8 %), with principal compounds including (E)-caryophyllene (22.2 %), ledene (9.7 %), selina-1,3,7(11)-trien-8-one (9.6 %), and α-pinene (7.0 %). Both essential oils exhibited antimicrobial activity against the bacteria Bacillus subtilis and Clostridium sporogenes, and Escherichia coli, and the fungus Aspergillus brasiliensis. L. myrrha leaf essential oil exhibited potent control over the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae with a MIC of 32 μg/mL. Additionally, L. myrrha leaf oil showed strong anti-inflammatory activity with an IC50 value of 15.20 μg/mL by inhibiting NO (nitric oxide) production in LPS (lipopolysaccharide)-stimulated RAW2647 murine macrophage cells. Regarding anti-tyrosinase activity, E. australis leaf oil showed the best monophenolase inhibition with the IC50 of 245.59 μg/mL, while L. myrrha leaf oil successfully inhibited diphenolase with the IC50 of 152.88 μg/mL. From molecular docking study, selina-1,3,7(11)-trien-8-one showed the highest affinity for both COX-2 (cyclooxygenase-2) and TNF-α (tumor necrosis factor-α) receptors. Hydrophobic interactions play a great role in the bindings of ligand-receptor complexes.
Keywords: Epaltes australis; Lindera myrrha; biological activity; essential oil; molecular docking.
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