Memory enhancing, anticholinesterase and antimicrobial activities of β-phenylnitroethane and essential oil of Dennettia tripetala Baker f

Ethnopharmacological relevance Dennettia tripetala Baker f. belonging to the family Annonaceae is an important food and medicinal plant used in some local communities in Southwest Nigeria. Aims of the study The study aims at determining the chemical composition of the essential oil of different morphological parts of D. tripetala, the memory enhancing and anticholinesterase activities as well as the antimicrobial properties. Materials and methods Essential oil of the morphological parts namely the fresh fruits, dried fruits, dried seeds and fresh leaves were obtained by hydrodistillation and analysed by GC-FID and GC-MS. The oil samples were evaluated for memory enhancement using Y-maze and in vitro anticholinesterase activities. The antimicrobial properties were also evaluated by nutrient broth method. Results GC analysis identifies β-ocimene, linalool, β-phenylnitroethane and humulene as common constituents of the fresh fruits, dried fruits, dried seeds and fresh leaves. β-Phenylnitroethane (BPNE) was the predominant constituent of all the parts; with the dried seed containing 87.4% BPNE, followed by the dried fruit (78.1%), fresh leaf (62.9%) and the fresh fruit content was 61.6%. The second most predominant constituent, linalool, was highest in the fresh fruit (29.9%), followed by the fresh leaf (16.0%), the dried fruit (14.9%) and the dried seed had least linalool content (8.8%). (Z)- β-Ocimene and humulene were other common components. The seed oil and BPNE exhibited high memory enhancing activities in the Y-maze test. However, the seed oil exhibited the best inhibition against the test bacteria and it had a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity. Bioactivities demonstrated by the various essential oils were not solely due to BPNE; rather, synergistic effects of other components are quite obvious. Conclusion The most abundant component - β-phenylnitroethane of D. tripetala was totally responsible for its memory enhancing properties but could not solely account for its antimicrobial activity.