ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:To extract and identify the volatile components of the roots of Polyalthia nemoralis,and to evaluate its biological activity in vitro. METHODS:Supercritical CO2 extraction (SFE-CO2) was performed to extract volatile compounds from the roots of P. nemoralis,and the volatile components were separated and determined by GC-MS. Human hepatic cancer Huh-7 cells were cultured with 0(blank control),5,10,20,30,40 and 50 μg(medicinal material)/ml extract for 24 h,and then MTT assay was used to detect the inhibitory effect of the extracts on cells. Relative cell viability and IC50 were calculated. The an-ti-bacterial activities of extract to Staphylococcus aureus,Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus,Enterococcus faecalis and oth-er strain were determined by Kirby-bauer method and broth dilution method. RESULTS:Forty compounds were identified from the SFE-CO2 extracts from the roots of P. nemoralis. The main constituents were(Z,Z,Z)-9,12,15-octa-decatrien-1-ol,glycerin,cinna-maldehyde,n-hexadecanoic acid and eugenol. Compared with blank control group,SFE-CO2 extracts from the roots of P. nemoralis 5 μg(medicinal material)/ml and above showed significant inhibitory effect on cell growth(P<0.05),and the inhibitory effect was strengthened as the concentration of extracts increased,IC50 values was 5.2 μg(medicinal material)/ml. However,the supercritical extract didn't showed antibacterial activity against three microorganisms in 2 kinds of antibacterial tests. CONCLUSIONS:SFE-CO2 and GC-MS method can effectively extract and identify volatile components of the roots of P. nemoralis,and supercritical extracts can inhibit the viability of cells but have no antibacterial activity.