Microscopy of Eugenia involucrata, Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of the Volatile Oil

Abstract

This paper studied the chemical profile, cytotoxicity, and insecticidal activity of the volatile oil, as well as provided a detailed anatomy of the leaves and stems from Eugenia involucrata DC., Myrtaceae. Its volatile oil was identified by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The insecticidal activity was performed using the volatile oil against two strains of Cimex lectularius L., using topical, residual, and fumigant methods. Cytotoxicity was verified against B16F10, MCF7, and McCoy cell lines. The cytotoxic mechanism was studied by the morphology feature changes. The microscopic analysis was performed by usual microscopy techniques. The main volatile compounds of E. involucrata were germacrene B (22.17%), bicyclogermacrene (19.76%), and β-elemene (10.86%). Volatile oil demonstrated low toxicity against two strains of the bed bug in the topical test and did not present toxicity in fumigation and residual methods. Cytotoxicity for the B16F10 murine melanoma cells was demonstrated. Moreover, the volatile oil induces morphological characteristic changes of the cell death process of apoptosis. The microscopic data of the leaf and stem provided information to support the identification of E. involucrata.