Secondary metabolites from plant organisms have always been excellent options for the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food industries. Essential oils are a type of metabolites found in vegetables, and their chemical composition is diverse; however, monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes are inside the most abundant molecules. These terpenes have a diverse chemical composition that range from a simple molecule with carbon and hydrogen to more complex molecules with oxygenated organic groups, such as alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, and ethers. Many of these molecules with 10 and 15 carbon atoms have an especially important biological activity, being important the antimicrobial, antifungal, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, insecticide, analgesic, anticancer, cytotoxic, among others. Some of these substances are potentially toxic, and hence, they should be handled with caution, especially when they are pure. They are easily obtained by different methods, and their industrial value grows every year, with a market of several million dollars. This chapter seeks to provide a better understanding of this type of bioactive molecules, with an emphasis in those whose information is remarkable in the scientific literature and whose value for health and human well-being makes them extremely important.

The chemical composition and biological activity of essential oils isolated from the leaves of Siparuna aspera, Siparuna macrotepala, Piper leticianum, Piper augustum and the rhizome of Hedychium coronarium were evaluated. These species are used medicinally in different ways by the Amazonian communities that live near the Kutukú mountain range. Chemical studies revealed that the main components for the two Siparuna species were germacrene D, bicyclogermacrene, α-pinene, δ-cadinene, δ-elemene, α-copaene and β-caryophyllene; for the two Piper species β-caryophyllene, germacrene D, α-(E,E)-farnesene, β-elemene, bicyclogermacrene, δ-cadinene and for H. coronarium 1,8-cineole, β-pinene, α-pinene and α-terpineol. The antioxidant activity of all essential oils was evaluated by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS), photochemiluminescence (PCL) quantitative assays, and DPPH and ABTS bioautographic profiles, with different results for each of them. Antimicrobial activity studies were carried out on three yeasts, six Gram positive and four Gram negative bacteria, by means of the disc diffusion method. The essential oil of H. coronarium showed the most relevant results on L. grayi, K. oxytoca and S. mutans, P. augustum and P. leticianum on S. mutans. An antibacterial bioautographic test for H. coronarium was also carried out and highlighted the potential activity of terpinen-4-ol and 1,8-cineole.

The essential oil extracted by steam distillation from the leaves of wild Ocotea quixos (Lauraceae) was analysed by GC and GC-MS. Sixty-one compounds were identified, representing 93.6% of the total detected. The main components were β β β β β-caryophyllene (15.1%), cinnamyl acetate (11.4%), sabinene (7.6%), geranial (5.6%) and transcinnamaldehyde (5.1%). Remarkable differences were noted with respect to the essential oil previously obtained from the flower calices of the same plant.

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Los resultados del experimento demostraron que el aceite foliar tiene una alta capacidad inhibitoria contra hongos (levaduras) y bacterias; así, se recomienda por un lado, continuar con análisis químicos más finos para determinar la naturaleza específica de los 62 compuestos y, por el otro, realizar ensayos con un número mayor de agentes patógenos. Palabras clave:Ocotea quixos (Lam.) Kosterm., ishpingo, aceite foliar, antimicrobiano, antifúngico, Amazonía.