Chemical composition, antioxidant and antiprotozoal activity of Eugenia gracillima Kiaersk. leaves essential oil

Abstract

Chemical composition, antioxidant and antiprotozoal activity of Eugenia gracillima Kiaersk. leaves essential oilThis work evaluated the volatile composition, antioxidant and antiprotozoal activities of the essential oil obtained from leaves of Eugenia gracillima Kiaersk. (EGEO) grown in Brazilian Northeast area (Araripe, Brazil). The volatile compounds of EGEO were analyzed by GC and GC-MS and its chemical composition is mainly composed of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (91.22%), oxygenated sesquiterpenes (7.45%) and monoterpene (1.01%). The most abundant volatile constituents of the EGEO were germacrene D (16.10%), γ-muurolene (15.60%), bicyclogermacrene (8.53%), germacrene B (7.43%), and Δ-elemene (6.06%). The oil showed weak to moderate antioxidant activity. EGEO was highly selective to Leishmania braziliensis and Leishmania infantum promastigotes with selective indexes of 73.66 and 71.41, respectively. EGEO did not inhibit Trypanosoma cruzi. These data suggest that the E. gracillima essential oil is a relevant source of lead compounds for development of anti-Leishmania drugs.

Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Essential Oils from Leaves of Two Specimens of Eugenia florida DC.

“…In the study by Gomes Vidal Sampaio et al [ 62 ], the essential oil of E. gracilima , characterized by the compounds germacrene D (16.10%), γ-muurolene (15.60%) and bicyclogermacrene (8.53%), showed antioxidant activity of 15.67 mg/mL by the DPPH method and 15.16 mg/mL by the TEAC method. Essential oils isolated from leaves and fine branches of species of the genus Eugenia , such as E. egensis , characterized by the major compounds 5-hydroxy-( Z )-calamenene (35.8%), ( E )-γ-bisabolene (35.0) %) and (2 E ,6 E )-farnesol (34.5%), showed significant antioxidant activity by the TEAC method, which may be related to the presence of the majority compound 5-hydroxy-( Z )-calamenene [ 63 ].…”