In vitro Antiproliferative and Antibacterial Activities of Essential Oils from Four Species of Guatteria.

The essential oils (EOs) extracted from four species of the genus Guatteria, G. australis, G. ferruginea, G. latifolia, and G. sellowiana were analyzed. A total of 24, 22, 25, and 19 constituents of the oils from four species, respectively, were identified by GC/MS. These oils showed qualitative and quantitative differences. All the oils contained the oxygenated sesquiterpenes spathulenol (11.04 - 40.29%) and caryophyllene oxide (7.74 - 40.13%) as predominant constituents. Evaluation of antiproliferative activity of the EOs showed strong selectivity (1.1 - 4.1 μg/ml) against the tumor cell line OVCAR-03 (ovarian cancer), i.e., more active than the positive control doxorubicin (11.7 μg/ml). All EOs showed strong antibacterial activity (minimum inhibitory concentrations of 0.062 - 0.25 mg/ml) against strains of Rhodococcus equi.