Compositions and in vitro Anticancer activities of the Leaf and Fruit Oils of Litsea cubeba from Taiwan

The leaves and fruit of Litsea cubeba were extracted by the hydrodistillation methods. Compositions and yields of the essential oils were determined and the oils applied to anticancer activities evaluations. A total of 53 and 50 compounds were identified respectively from the leaf and fruit oils, and their yields were 13.93 ± 0.09 and 3.97 ± 0.03 ml/100 g of the oven-dried (o.d.) materials, respectively. The main compound in the leaves was 1,8-cineol, and in fruit it was citral. We found that the fruit oils, but not leaf oils exhibited cytotoxic activity against human lung, liver and oral cancer cells.