Ultrasound-laccase pre-treatment enhances agarwood essential oil extraction and bioactivity

Sheng Ma; Yuan Chen; Tingting Yan; Jiahui Qin; Gaiyun Li

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.139654

Ultrasound-laccase pre-treatment enhances agarwood essential oil extraction and bioactivity

Int J Biol Macromol. 2025 Jan 8:139654. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.139654. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Sheng Ma¹, Yuan Chen¹, Tingting Yan¹, Jiahui Qin¹, Gaiyun Li²

Affiliations

¹ Research Institute of Wood Industry of Chinese Academy of Forestry, 100091, Beijing, PR China.
² Research Institute of Wood Industry of Chinese Academy of Forestry, 100091, Beijing, PR China. Electronic address: ligy@caf.ac.cn.

PMID: 39793841
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.139654

Abstract

Agarwood essential oil is prized for its elegant aroma and pharmacological properties; however, the traditional hydrodistillation method suffers from inefficiencies, constraining the industrial potential of agarwood. We proposed an ultrasonic-assisted laccase synergistic pretreatment technique that enhanced extraction throughput by 70.90 % compared to the traditional method by facilitating pore formation in agarwood and expediting the release of essential oil. The essential oil extracted using this method retained a similar aromatic profile to the traditional method but achieved a higher sesquiterpene oxide concentration (95.3 % vs. 89.6 %). Additionally, it exhibited notable improvements in antioxidant activity, acetylcholinesterase inhibition, and α-glucosidase inhibition, attributed to the increased affinity of sesquiterpene oxides for enzymes through hydrogen bonding, covalent interactions, and hydrophobic effects with amino acid residues. This approach not only maximises the efficiency of agarwood essential oil extraction and amplifies its bioactive properties, but also offers a sustainable and eco-friendly alternative, promoting the long-term vitality of the agarwood industry.

Keywords: Acetylcholinesterase inhibition; Agarwood essential oil; Antioxidant activity; Sesquiterpene oxides; Sustainable extraction; Ultrasound-assisted laccase; α-Glucosidase inhibition.