Chemical composition and biological activities of essential oil from Curcuma phongvui T.T.D.Pham & Juan Chen, Zingiberaceae

This is the first study to elucidate the phytochemical composition of the essential oil derived from the whole plant of Vietnamese Curcuma phongvui T.T.D.Pham & Juan Chen (CPWE). Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis identified 23 constituents, primarily sesquiterpenes, from which xanthorrhizol (53.293%) was the dominant one, followed by (E)-caryophyllene (12.191%), camphor (9.324%), β-pinene (4.397%), β-curcumene (3.737%), and germacrene D (2.559%) as the major components. CPWE showed antioxidant activity, with IC50 values of 152.20 ± 1.94 μg/mL using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging assay and 187.40 ± 1.56 μg/mL using the 2,2′-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) assay. In the α-glucosidase inhibition assay, CPWE exhibited moderate anti-α-glucosidase activity, exhibiting an IC50 value of 391.00 ± 2.82 μg/mL as compared to the standard acarbose (IC50 = 273.90 ± 2.67 μg/mL). Moreover, CPWE was found to have strong cytotoxic activity against human cancer cell lines, namely human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2: IC50 = 10.29 ± 0.28 μg/mL), human non-small cell lung carcinoma (A549: IC50 = 10.80 ± 0.03 μg/mL), and human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7: IC50 = 7.54 ± 0.19 μg/mL), while showing markedly lower toxicity toward normal human lung fibroblasts (NHLF: IC50 = 55.11 ± 0.30 μg/mL). Overall, these findings indicate that xanthorrhizol-rich CPWE may serve as a promising natural source for antioxidant, antidiabetic, and anticancer agents.