Chemical Composition and Cytotoxic Activity of the Leaf Essential Oil of Ocotea tonduzii from Monteverde, Costa Rica

The leaf essential oil of Ocotea tonduzii from Monteverde, Costa Rica has been obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC-MS. The principal constituents of O. tonduzii leaf oil were the monoterpenes α-pinene (41.4%) and pinene (25.1%) and the sesquiterpenes α-humulene (6.9%), β-caryophyllene (5.8%), and germacrene D (3.8%). O. tonduzii leaf oil was notably cytotoxic on MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-468, and UACC-257 cells in vitro. The major essential oil components showed cytotoxic activities comparable to doxorubicin ( LC 50 , 20–70 μg/mL).