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Home > JMAP > Vol. 1 > Iss. 3 (2012)

 

Biological Activities and Volatile Constituents of Aegle marmelos (L.) Corrêa from Nepal

Abstract

Aegle marmelos, a deciduous fruit tree that grows in Nepal, has numerous uses in traditional medicine, being used as an anti-inflammatory, antidiarrheal, heart disease treatment, and in birth control. In this study, leaves were collected to obtain, analyze, and examine the bioactivity of the essential oil of A. marmelos, which is often referred to as bael tree in Nepal. The essential oil from leaves was obtained by hydrodistillation. The chemical composition, determined by GC-MS, revealed 82 compounds, with 81 components being identified. The major component was limonene (64.1%), with the other two abundant components being (E)-β-ocimene (9.7%) and germacrene B (4.7%). Bioassay screening of the essential oil indicated marginal toxicity against MCF-7 human breast adenocarcinoma cells (LC50 = 98.2 µg mL-1), but good larvicidal activity against mosquitoes (Culex pipiens) (LC50 = 2.15 µg mL-1), nematocidal activity against Caenorhabditis elegans, (LC50 = 113 µg mL-) and insecticidal activity against termites (Reticulitermes virginicus), fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster), and fire ants (Solenopsis invica × richteri). The essential oil of A. marmelos showed remarkable brine shrimp lethality. Antimicrobial and antifungal activity of the leaf oil was negligible. Most of the observed biological activity was apparently due to the relatively high level of limonene (64.1%) in the essential of the leaf essential oil from A. marmelos.

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