Chemical Composition, Antioxidative and Anticancer Activities of the Essential Oil: Curcumae Rhizoma–Sparganii Rhizoma, a Traditional Herb Pair

As a classical herb pair in clinics of traditional Chinese medicine, Curcumae Rhizoma–Sparganii Rhizoma (HP CR–SR) is used for activating blood circulation to remove blood stasis. The essential components in HP CR–SR and its single herbs were comparatively analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry data. 66, 22, and 54 components in volatile oils of Curcumae Rhizoma, Sparganii Rhizoma, and HP CR–SR were identified, and total contents accounted for 75.416%, 91.857%, and 79.553% respectively. The thirty-eight components were found in HP CR–SR, and not detected in single herbs Curcumae Rhizoma and Sparganii Rhizoma. The highest radical trapping action was seen by an essential oil of HP CR–SR (IC(50) = 0.59 ± 0.04 mg/mL). Furthermore, the HP CR–SR essential oil showed more remarkable cytotoxicity on tumor cell lines than that of the single herbs Curcumae Rhizoma and Sparganii Rhizoma in a dose-dependent manner: IC(50) values showing 32.32 ± 5.31 μg/mL (HeLa), 34.76 ± 1.82 μg/mL (BGC823), 74.84 ± 1.66 μg/mL (MCF-7), 66.12 ± 11.23 μg/mL (SKOV3), and 708.24 ± 943.91 μg/mL (A549), respectively. In summary, the essential oil of HP CR–SR is different from any one of Curcumae Rhizoma and Sparganii Rhizoma, nor simply their superposition, and HP CR–SR oil presented more remarkable anticancer and antioxidant activities compared with Curcumae Rhizoma and Sparganii Rhizoma oils.