Volatile oil components of polyalthia hookeriana and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity

Wan Mohd Nuzul Hakimi Wan Salleh

Abstract

Polyalthia is one of the largest and most notable genera in the Annonaceae family, with approximately 346 species. Polyalthia is a palaeotropical genus with a wide distribution, particularly in Southeast Asia [1]. It is considered to be of medicinal importance because of the presence of clerodane diterpenoids and alkaloids in various parts of the plant [2]. There are several reports on the composition of the essential oils of the Polyalthia species [3]. Polyalthia hookeriana King is commonly found in Malaysia and Singapore. It is a tree and shrub that can grow up to 21 metres tall. The flower has six petals in two whorls, the inner petals curving inward over the centre [4]. The literature search did not reveal any reports on the essential oil composition of P. hookeriana. Herein, we describe the chemical composition of the essential oil of P. hookeriana as well as its acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity. The leaves of P. hookeriana were collected from Behrang, Perak, in September 2020 and identified by Shamsul Khamis from UKM. The voucher specimen (SK26/19) was deposited at the Herbarium of UKM. The essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation (4 h) of the fresh leaves (250 g) using a Clevenger-type apparatus. The oil yield was 0.18% based on the fresh weight. The chemical composition of the isolated oil was analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS under conditions analogous to those published before [5]. For the identification of essential oil components, co-injection with the standards was used, along with correspondence of retention indices and mass spectra with respect to those occurring in the literature [6].

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