Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oil of Baccharis dracunculifolia DC (Asteraceae) Aerial Parts at Flowering Period

Abstract

Baccharis dracunculifolia DC (Asteraceae) is a Brazilian native bush tree, and its leaf essential oil has been reported to possess some biological activities, but the antimicrobial activity of its aerial part essential oil at the flowering period is unknown or little studied, mainly against agents that cause foodborne diseases. Thus, this study aimed to determine the chemical composition and evaluate the antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of B. dracunculifolia aerial part at flowering period. This essential oil was obtained by hydro distillation and its chemical composition was determined by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The minimum inhibitory concentration, minimum bactericidal concentration, and minimum fungicidal concentration of the essential oil were evaluated against eight bacteria and eight fungi using 96-well microtiter plates. The essential oil yield was 1.8 ± 0.07%, and spathulenol (27%) and trans-nerolidol (23%), both oxygenated sesquiterpenes, were the major compounds found among 30 chemical constituents identified. The essential oil presented bacteriostatic and bactericidal activities, mainly against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and also fungistatic and fungicidal activities. However, its antibacterial activity was more effective than the antifungal one by using the essential oil at lower concentrations. Essential oil of B. dracunculifolia may be a potential alternative for food applications in order to reduce synthetic chemicals in a more sustainable food industry.

Essential Oils and Mono/bi/tri-Metallic Nanocomposites as Alternative Sources of Antimicrobial Agents to Combat Multidrug-Resistant Pathogenic Microorganisms: An Overview

“…The chemical composition of EOs are attributed to various factors, e.g., plant species, climatic conditions, soil type, temperature, humidity, ecotype, phenophase, photoperiod, irradiance, genotype, harvesting seasons, age of leaves, agronomic conditions, geographic region, and extraction process [60][61][62]. EOs are complex mixtures of aromatic and volatile compounds with many single compounds, but the number can vary in different plant materials.…”

Interspecific variations in the habitats of Reichardia tingitana (L.) Roth leading to changes in its bioactive constituents and allelopathic activity

“…Plants under this family have been widely utilized in the past and are still used today for their medicinal properties. Members of Asteraceae have been reported to possess many biological activities including antibacterial, antifungal, antidiabetic, antihelminthic, immunostimulatory, and anticancer activities (Cazella et al, 2019, Salazar et al, 2018, Sharma et al, 2018).…”

Antifungal Properties of Nerolidol-Containing Liposomes in Association with Fluconazole

“…These findings are corroborated by phytochemical studies demonstrating that this sesquiterpene was identified as a major compound in numerous plants with proven antimicrobial activity [ 18 ]. In this context, Cazella et al [ 48 ] demonstrated that an essential oil obtained from B. dracunculifolia containing spathulenol (27.43%) and nerolidol (23.06%) as major components, showed significant antimicrobial activity against a wide variety of microorganisms. However, the mechanism of antifungal action of nerolidol remains to be better understood, although some evidence has suggested that this compound directly alters the cell membrane permeability, which can lead to cell death [ 49 , 50 ].…”