# Detection of Volatiles by HS-SPME-GC/MS and Biological Effect Evaluation of Buddha's Hand Fruit
## 4 Discussion  
In this report, the volatile chemical composition of the fresh parts (exocarp and mesocarp) and of the respective methanol extracts, as well as of the hydrodistillation products (EO and Hy) obtained from the exocarp of _C. medica_ var. _sarcodactylus_, grown in Switzerland, were described. The volatile profile of unmodified [PERSON]'s hand fruit, obtained by SPME-GC/MS analysis, highlighted an absolute prevalence of terpene hydrocarbons both in the exocarp and in the mesocarp with limonene and \(\gamma\)-terpinene as major compounds, according to [PERSON] et al. (2019), who also considered this sampling technique as the most efficient to capture volatiles such as terpen from this fresh matrix. Furthermore, it was also used to reveal the variation of the chemical composition of [PERSON]'s hand species due to the pickling processes ([PERSON] et al., 2019). There are a limited number of works on the chemical composition of EOs from [PERSON]'s hand fruit grown in other countries. In our study, exocarp EO was found to be rich in limonene and \(\gamma\)-terpinene, according to some previous studies ([PERSON] et al., 2019; [PERSON] et al., 2019; [PERSON] et al., 2019; [PERSON] et al., 2019; [PERSON] et al., 2019). Otherwise, other papers reported a lower content of these components ([PERSON] et al., 2019) or, instead of \(\gamma\)-terpinene as the second major constituent, the presence of other molecules such as geraniol ([PERSON] et al., 2019), \(\alpha\)-pinene ([PERSON] et al., 2019) and \(\beta\)-caryophyllene ([PERSON] et al., 2019). In general, such changes in the composition of EOs could be attributed to various factors, including the extraction or isolation method, conditions of analysis, geographic origin, climatic region conditions, and genetic variability ([PERSON] et al., 2019; [PERSON] et al., 2019; [PERSON] et al., 2019; [PERSON] et al., 2019; [PERSON] et al., 2019). With regard to [PERSON]'s hand EO, the stage of maturity is also a predominant factor. [PERSON] et al. (2019) reported that, in the mature phases, the quantity of monoterrenic hydrocarbons is higher, while the quantity of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons and oxygenated compounds is reduced. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study dealing with the chemical characterization of the EEX and MEX and of the Hy by GC/MS and HS-GC/MS techniques, respectively. The findings showed that extracts were rich in furan and coumarin compounds, while in the Hy, oxygenated monoterrenes dominated. In addition to these volatiles, the presence of polyphenols including flavonoids in both EEX and MEX could explain the biological activities recorded in this study. Polyphe \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c} \hline \hline  & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**EO**} & \multicolumn{3}{c}{**Hy**} \\ \hline
**Strains** & **MIC 1** & **MBC 2** & **MBC/MIC** & **MIC 1** & **MBC 2** & **MBC/MIC** \\  & & & & **Ratio** & & **Ratio** \\ \hline _B. cereus_ & 0.5 & 1.0 & 2.0 & na & - & - \\ _E. coli_ & na & - & - & na & - & - \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular} 1 Minimal Inhibitory Concentration and 2 Minimal Bactericidal Concentration expressed in % \(v/v\); na, not attained.  
\end{table} 
Table 7: Antibacterial activity of EO and HY. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c} \hline \hline
**Samples** & **EC\({}_{50}\)\(\pm\) SD** \\ \hline EEX & 1.76 \(\pm\) 0.32 \\ MEX & na \\ \hline Effective Concentration (EC\({}_{50}\) value \(\pm\) SD) are expressed in mg/mL. EEX, exocarp extract; MEX, mesocarp extract. \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 8: Cytotoxic activity of EEX and MEX on HL60 cell line for 72 h. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c} \hline \hline
**Samples** & **EC\({}_{50}\)\(\pm\) SD** \\ \hline EO & 1.24 \(\pm\) 0.42 \\ Hy & 2.97 \(\pm\) 0.07 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 9: Cytotoxic activity of EO and Hy on HL60 cell line for 72 h.  
nols are widely recognized to be strong antioxidants, with the ability to neutralize free radicals [42].