Abstract
This study aims to determine the essential oil chemical composition of Lippia alba (Mill.) N.E.Br. ex Britton & P. Wilson collected in the Brazilian Chaco where plants grow in conditions of high temperatures in the summer, periodic flood, low temperatures and air humidity in the winter. We also evaluate the oil antifungal activity against the animal and plant pathogenic fungi Aspergillus flavus, A. fumigatus, A. niger, A. terreus, Fusarium sp., Penicillium funiculosum and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Leaf essential oils were extracted by Clevenger hydrodistillation and characterized by GC-MS. The major essential oil components were linalool (38.26%), trans-ocimenone (6.57%) and caryophyllene oxide (6.48%). At first time L. alba from Brazilian Chaco was identified as a chemotype producing linalool. The essential oils showed antifungal activity, mainly against S. slerotiorum, a fungi species related with diseases in soybean plants, with 100% of growth inhibition. These results suggest the potential alternative of this species to synthetic fungicides and confirm its popular uses as an important medicinal plant in South America. Key words: Brazilian Chaco, erva cidreira, essential oil, pathogenic fungi, glandular trichome, terpenes.
Highlights
Lippia alba (Mill.) N.E.Br. ex Britton & P
This study aimed to determine the chemical composition of L. alba essential oils in specimens collected in the humid Brazilian Chaco and evaluate their antifungal activity against Penicillium funiculosum, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and some Aspergillus and Fusarium species
The chemical analysis of L. alba leaf essential oils collected in Chaco, Mato Grosso do Sul, showed the monoterpene linalool (38.26%) (Figure 2) as the main component, followed by caryophyllene oxide (6.48%), trans-ocimenone (6.57%), p-mentha-1,8-dien-3-one (4.61%), and humulene epoxide II (4.03 %) (Table 1)
Summary
Lippia alba (Mill.) N.E.Br. ex Britton & P. Distributed throughout the Americas and found in different environments, such as forests, fields, and roadsides (Salimena and Múlgura, 2015). It is commonly used in South American folk medicine as an analgesic, antiinflammatory, cold remedy, as well as a treatment for hepatic afflictions (Oliveira et al, 2006). Essential oils from the leaves of L. alba have been categorized into different chemotypes, depending on their major constituents, such as linalool, citral, and carvone (Pandeló et al, 2012). Several biological properties of this plant, such as cytotoxicity, antioxidant, antibiofilm, anesthetic, antitumor, antibacterial, antifungal, antiinflammatory, antispasmodic activities and anxiolytic-like effects differ according to essential oil chemotype (Glamočlija et al, 2011; Trevisan et al, 2016; TofiñoRivera et al, 2016; Pandey et al, 2016, García et al, 2017)
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