Chemical composition and biological activities of the essential oil of Skimmia laureola leaves

Abstract

The composition of the essential oil from leaves of Skimmia laureola was determined by GC and GC-MS. Twenty-eight components were identified, accounting for 93.9% of the total oil. The oil is mainly composed of monoterpenes (93.5%), of which monoterpene hydrocarbons and oxygenated monoterpenes represent 11.0% and 82.5%, respectively. Sesquiterpenes constitute only 0.3% of the total oil. Linalyl acetate is the main component (50.5%), with linalool (13.1%), geranyl acetate (8.5%) and cis-p-menth-2-en-1-ol (6.2%) as other principal constituents. The essential oil showed a significant antispasmodic activity, in a dose range of 0.03-10 mg/mL. The essential oil also possesses antibacterial and antifungal activities against some pathogenic strains. The phytotoxic and cytotoxic activities were also assessed.