TITLE:
Characterization of the Biological Potential of the Essential Oils from Five Species of Medicinal Plants
AUTHORS:
Danubia Aparecida Carvalho Selvati Rezende, Rafaela Vieira Souza, Maisa Lamounier Magalhães, Alex Rodrigues Silva Caetano, Marcos Schleiden Sousa Carvalho, Ellen Cristina de Souza, Luiz Gustavo de Lima Guimarães, David Lee Nelson, Luís Roberto Batista, Maria das Graças Cardoso
KEYWORDS:
Natural Products, Antioxidant, Antibacterial Activity
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.8 No.2,
January
20,
2017
ABSTRACT: Essential oils from Mentha piperita, Cymbopogon citratus, Rosmarinus officinalis, Peumus
boldus and Foeniculum vulgare were
extracted by hydrodistillation, chemically characterized and quantified by
GC/MS and GC/FID. The principal componentes in the essential oil of M. piperita (carvone and limonene), C. citratus (geranial, neral and
myrcene), R. officinalis (1,8-cineole, camphor and α-pinene), P. boldus (α-terpinyl formate, p-cymene and
1,8-cineole) and F. vulgare (methyl
chavicol, limonene and fenchone) were identified. The oils were tested for
antioxidant activity employing the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl)
radical-capture method, the oxidation of the β-carotene/linoleic acid system, and the ABTS radical-capture method. The
essential oils were not effective. The antioxidant activities of the oils were
determined by the hydroxyl method, and the highest activity (62.80%) was
observed with the essential oil from M.
piperita. Activities of 1.54 and 1.82 μg μg-1, respectively, were observed for the essential oils from C. citratus and P. Boldus using the phosphomolybdenum method. No activity was observed with respect to reducing
power. The essential oil from C. citratus was effective in inhibiting the growth of L. monocytogenes (15.63 mg·L-1), S. choleraesuis (15.63 mg·L-1) and E. coli (31.25 mg·L-1), and the essential oil from P.
boldus inhibited the growth of S.
aureus (62.5 mg·L-1). No essential oil inhibited the growth of P. aeruginosa. A low antioxidant
activity and a promising antibacterial activity were observed for these
essential oils.