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. 2024 Jun 20;13(12):1712.
doi: 10.3390/plants13121712.

Chemical Composition, Antioxidant, and Cytotoxic Activity of Essential Oils in the Above-Ground Parts of Sonchus oleraceus L

Abd El-Nasser G El Gendy  1 , Nadia A Mohamed  2 , Tushar C Sarker  3 , Emad M Hassan  1 , Ahmed H Garaa  4 , Abdelsamed I Elshamy  1 , Ahmed M Abd-ElGawad  5
Affiliations

Chemical Composition, Antioxidant, and Cytotoxic Activity of Essential Oils in the Above-Ground Parts of Sonchus oleraceus L

Abd El-Nasser G El Gendy et al. Plants (Basel). .

Abstract

Sonchus oleraceus L. is a leafy vegetable that is usually consumed in the area of the Mediterranean and is a frequently used traditional herb to treat a variety of ailments. Previous studies deduced the potent antioxidant and cytotoxic functions of the different extracts and isolated compounds from S. oleraceus. The current study represents the first instance of chemical profiling and bioactivities of the extracted essential oil (EO) of S. oleraceus. The present investigation set out to identify the chemical components of this EO by means of Gas Chromatography with Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID) and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (G004-MS) techniques; assess the oil's antioxidant potencies through 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate (ABTS) assays; and evaluate the oil's cytotoxic impact against HepG2 cancer cell lines. The GC-MS chemical profiling revealed the identification of 23 components representing 97.43% of the total oil mass within abundant cyclic ketones (20.15%), nonterpenoidial hydrocarbons (28.77%), and sesquiterpenes (42.19%). The main components were n-nonadecane (28.77%), trans-caryophyllene (23.73%), trans-methyl dihydrojasmonate (19.55%), and cis-cadina-1,4-diene (9.44%). In a dose-dependent manner, this EO demonstrated antioxidant capacities on DPPH and ABTS, with IC50 values of 609.35 and 804.16 µg/mL, respectively, compared to ascorbic acid. Using doxorubicin as a reference therapy, the MTT assay findings revealed that this oil had remarkable inhibitory effects on the proliferation of HepG2 cancer cell lines, with an IC50 of 136.02 µg/mL. More studies were recommended for further investigation of new biological roles for this oil and its main components, along with the construction of action mechanisms based on chemical components.

Keywords: Sonchus oleraceus; anticancer; antioxidant; chemical profile; trans-caryophyllene; volatile components.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The herb Sonchus oleraceus L. (A) Plant shoot system, (B) close view of leaves, (C) close view of closed inflorescence (head), and (D) open inflorescence.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Total ion chromatogram (TIC) of EO derived from S. oleraceus’s above-ground parts.
Figure 3
Figure 3
EI-MS spectra of the two compounds, procerin (Rt: 35.68) and seselin (Rt: 40.28).
Figure 4
Figure 4
The antioxidant capacity of EO from S. oleraceus’s above-ground sections was assessed using DPPH and ABTS tests at several dosages in comparison to the standard (ascorbic acid). *** Different letters inside each line curve indicate values significant at p 0.05 following Tukey’s HSD test.
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