In vitro assessment
of cytotoxicity, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of Zingiber zerumbet
rhizome essential oil
Nayak Ananya, Gadnayak Ayushman, Jena Sudipta, Ray Asit and Sahoo Ambika
Res. J. Biotech.; Vol. 20(3); 191-200;
doi: https://doi.org/10.25303/203rjbt1910200; (2025)
Abstract
The present research deals with studying the phytoconstituents, antioxidant potential,
cytotoxicity and anti-inflammatory activities of the Zingiber zerumbet rhizome essential
oil (ZZEO). A total of 29 components were identified using GC-MS accounting for
94.68% of the total EO composition. The ZZEO was characterized by sesquiterpenes,
comprising of 83.11% of the total composition with zerumbone (68.18%) and α-Humulene
(11.72%) as the major compounds. The DPPH and FRAP assays of the rhizome essential
oil showed IC50 values of 83.90±0.05 mg/ml and 1.98±0.04 mg/ml respectively. The
in silico PASS prediction revealed that compounds more than 1% area, such as α-Pinene
(0.853>0.005), camphor (0.701>0.015), β-caryophyllene (0.741> 0.011), spathulenol
(0.769>0.009) and zerumbone (0.764>0.002) exhibited Pa>0.7 value, confirming ZZEO's
anti-inflammatory potential.
The in vitro cytotoxic effect of the ZZEO was evaluated against RAW 264.7 murine-macrophage
cell line by using MTT assay, which resulted in very little cytotoxicity (IC50=176.71
μg/ml). Furthermore, at a concentration of 100μg/mL, the rhizome essential oil demonstrated
significant anti-inflammatory potential in LPS-activated RAW 264.7 macrophage cells
by reducing nitric oxide (NO) production. The study results revealed that the ZZEO
is a rich source of bioactive constituent, zerumbone, with potential anti-inflammatory
activity, leading to further investigation for the development of anti-inflammatory
drugs.
