Chemical content determination by GC-FD/MS and cytotoxicity assesment of Vitex agnus-castus fruit, flower and leaf essential oils

Vitex agnus-castus L. also known as “hayıt, beş parmak out” is a very popular ethnomedicinal plant in Türkiye. There are even some villages named Karacahayıt, Karahayıt, Hayıtlı because of the plant's common distribution [1]. Previous studies have identified a wide range of major components of the fruit, leaf, and flower essential oil (EO)s including 1,8-cineole, α-pinene, β- caryophyllene, sabinene, α-terpinyl acetate, β-phellandrene, (Z)-β-farnesene, limonene and bicyclogermacrene [2]. The present study identified EO compositions and determined chemotypes of the V. agnus-castus flowers, leaf, and fruit collected from Türkiye (Balıkesir). EOs obtained from dried fruit, flowers, and leaf were determined by GC-FD/MS and the cytotoxic effect was evaluated in human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) and human alveolar adenocarcinoma (A549) cell lines using MTT assay. MCF-7 and A549 cell lines were selected according to the use of V. agnus-castus among the people in ethnobotanical studies of Türkiye. Monoterpene hydrocarbons and oxygenated monoterpene compounds together were found to be the predominant component class of the EOs and they are defined as “α-pinene-1,8-cineole” chemotypes. While there are a few studies that evaluated the cytotoxic effect of V. agnus-castus EO, they mainly focused on the leaf or the aerial parts of the plant. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to evaluate the cytotoxicity of EOs from flowers. In fact, different colored white and purple flowers found in nature were distilled and the chemical contents and cytotoxicity of EOs were compared. In MCF-7 cells, the EO of purple flowers appears to be potent among the EOs with IC50 about 4.68 μg/mL, which is also 10-fold more potent than the EO of white flowers (p<0.05). However, the EO of the white flower appears more potent in A549 cells with no big difference from the other EOs potency (IC50 39.39 to 48.62 μg/mL).