Neuritogenic and neuroprotective activities of the essential oil from rhizomes of curcuma alismatifolia

Abstract

The essential oil from rhizomes of Curcuma alismatifolia Gagnep. was extracted by hydrodistillation. Chemical analysis by gas chromatography- mass spectrometry identified 12 compounds, of which the most prominent were xanthorrhizol (82.2%), ar-curcumene (6.5%), α-cedrene (1.8%), and β-bisabolol (1.1%). The essential oil at 1 ng/mL showed neuroprotective and neuritogenic activity on P19-derived neurons by significantly enhancing cell viability, length, and branching numbers of the cultured P19-derived neurons. In addition, xanthorrhizol, the major compound of the essential oil, at 10 ng/mL also exhibited the protection of P19-derived neurons. However, the mechanism of their neuroprotective activity was not correlated with their antioxidant activity. © The Author(s) 2019.