Chemical composition of essential oil from piper sarmentosum fruit and neuroprotective activity

Abstract

A number of complementary medicines have been investigated for their neuroprotection and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. This study aimed to analyze the chemical compounds and the neuroprotective activity Piper sarmentosum Roxb. fruit essential oil. The essential oil from the fruits of P. sarmentosum (Piperaceae) was extracted by hydrodistillation. Chemical components of the oil were analyzed by Gas chromatography-Mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The effects of essential oil from P. sarmentosum fruit on P19-derived neuron cell viability, neuron length, and branching numbers were investigated. The results showed that the yield of essential oil obtained from P. sarmentosum fruit distillation was 1.47% w/w. The essential oil from P. sarmentosum fruit contained major compounds, namely; myristicin (88.9%), E-caryophyllene (3.7%), elemicin (1.4%), pentadecane (1.0%), apiole (1.0%), α-copaene (0.7%), and β-copaene (0.2%). The essential oil at 1 and 10 ng/mL significantly increased cell viability, elongated neuron length, and enhanced branching numbers. Therefore, it was suggested that the oil extracted from P. sarmentosum fruit may have promising neuroprotective and neuritogenic effects on neurons and prevent neurodegenerative diseases.