Chromatographic (LC-MS and GC-MS) and biological (antiproliferative) evaluation of a naturalized plant in Jordan: Parkinsonia aculeata L.

Introduction: Parkinsonia aculeata L. (Caesalpiniaceae), native to the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts of southwestern USA and northern Mexico, has been introduced and successfully propagated in Jordan within the Greening the Desert Project. No phytochemical or biological studies have been carried out with this species grown in Jordan. Methods: The hydrodistilled essential oils of P. aculeata, from the fresh leaves and flowers (fully grown and at the pre-flowering stage), as well as their spontaneous emitted volatiles, were determined by Solid-Phase-MicroExtraction (SPME), and analyzed by GC and GC-MS. Water and ethanol extracts were screened by LC-MS and evaluated for their antiproliferative activities on two colorectal- (Caco2 and HCT116) and two breast cancer(MCF7 and T47D) cell lines. Results: The monoterpene trans-ocimene appeared as the major compound of the aroma profile of all the studied organs while the hydro-distilled oils contained larger percentages of non-terpenoid volatile substances. LC-MS analyses of the water extract of the aerial parts revealed the presence of sixteen compounds, with 4-methylumbelliferone, succinic acid, vitexin, and hyperoside being the major identified compounds. In the ethanol extract of the aerial parts eleven compounds were identified, with iso-orientin and chrysoeriol-7-glucoside as the major compounds. Biologically, the water extract of the P. aculeata showed promising antiproliferative activity against the four tested cell lines with IC50s ranging between 17.5 and 77 mu g/mL. Conclusion: Findings encourage future studies to isolate the water extract components of P. aculeata to investigate their anticancer activities against different cancer cell lines and to consider it as a complementary therapy for colorectal cancer.