Chemical Composition and Cytotoxic Activity of the Essential Oils of Cantinoa stricta (Benth.) Harley & J.F.B. Pastore (Lamiaceae)

The essential oils from the leaves and flowers of Cantinoa stricta (Benth.) Harley & J.F.B. Pastore (Lamiaceae) were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC/FID and GC/ MS. The major components of both oils were caryophyllene oxide (leaf – 31.6%; flower – 21.7%) and cis-pinane (leaf – 15.4%; flower – 9.7%). The flower oil also contained significant amounts of a -pinene (9.4%) and b -pinene (9.1%). The oils were tested in vitro against U251 (glioma), UACC-62 (melanoma), MCF-7 (breast), NCI-H460 (lung), PC-3 (prostate), K-562 (leukemia) human cancer cell lines and against HaCat (no cancer cell), using the sulforhodamine B method. Both oils showed antiproliferative activity against all tested cells lines (TGI < 50 m g/mL), with exception of K562 cells. The highest activity was observed against MCF-7 cell lines (TGI = 4.54-10.36 m g/mL).