Chemodiversity essential oil from three species of Croton (Euphorbiaceae) and assessment of antimicrobial potential

Abstract

The Croton genus is known for its various biological properties, which inspired this study to investigate the anti-bacterial properties and chemodiversity of the essential oils of three Croton species: Croton blanchetianus, Croton jacobinensis, and Croton nepetifolius. The essential oils were characterized by gas chromatography (GC-MS) and demonstrated antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli using the disk diffusion method. The essential oil composition of C. blanchetianus showed bicyclogermacrene (16.04%) and spathulenol (16.44%) as the main compounds. In C. jacobinensis, bicyclogermacrene (22.04%), caryophyllene (17.95%), and β-phellandrene (12.30%) were the most prevalent. Meanwhile, C. nepetifolius's essential oil consisted mainly of bicyclogermacrene (17.69%), caryophyllene (15.15%), and germacrene D (11.78%). The principal component analysis (PCA) results showed three distinct chemotypes for each Croton species, suggesting that they have well-defined and unique chemical profiles. Interestingly, the three Croton species demonstrated activity only against Staphylococcus aureus bacteria.