Biological activities of essential oils from six genotypes of four Ocotea species

Abstract Essential oils from four Ocotea species collected in southern Brazil were evaluated for chemical composition using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The primary compound identified in O. acutifolia essential oil was an unsaturated tetracyclic diterpene, phyllocladene (67.7%), followed by a sesquiterpene hydrocarbon, ß-selinene (18.0%). The sesquiterpene fraction was predominant in oils from two collections of O. puberula; ß-caryophyllene (25.2%) and globulol (22.6%) were the major compounds identified in collections 1 and 2, respectively. O. silvestris essential oil contained predominantly germacrene D and bicyclogermacrene. These compounds were also predominant in essential oil from O. indecora leaves collected from shady habitats. By contrast, essential oil extracted from O. indecora grown under direct sunlight contained mainly oxygenated sesquiterpenes, such as guaiol (30.2%), α-eudesmol (27.6%), and ß-eudesmol (12.7%). Chemotaxis assays showed that Ocotea essential oils had no significant inhibitory activity on leukocyte migration compared with a chemotactic stimulant (lipopolysaccharide from Escherichia coli). However, the oils exhibited antifungal activity against Candida parapsilosis, with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 500 µg/mL. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the in vitro antifungal and antichemotactic activities of essential oils from Ocotea species native to southern Brazil

Ocotea porosa: Anatomy and Histochemistry of Leaves and Stems, Chemical Composition, Cytotoxicity and Insecticidal Activities of Essential Oil

Abstract Ocotea porosa (Nees & Mart.) Barroso, commonly known as "imbuia", "canela-imbuia" or "imbuia-amarela" in Brazil, is a tree of the Southern Atlantic Forest. The present study investigates the anatomy of leaf and stem, volatile oil chemistry, as well as cytotoxicity and insecticidal activities of the essential oil of O. porosa. Species identification was achieved by anatomy features, mainly due to paracytic and anomocytic stomata; non-glandular trichomes; biconvex midrib and petiole with a collateral open arc vascular bundle; presence of a sclerenchymatous layer, starch grains and crystal sand in the stem; and the presence of phenolic compounds in the epidermis, phloem and xylem of the midrib, petiole and stem. The main volatile components of the essential oil were α-pinene (19.71%), β-pinene (13.86%) and bicyclogermacrene (24.62%). Cytotoxicity against human cancer cell (MCF-7), mouse cancer cell (B16F10) and mouse non-tumoral cell (McCoy) was observed as well as insecticidal activity of the essential oil against susceptible 'Ft. Dix' bed bugs (Cimex lectularius L.) by topical application.

Ocotea nutans (Nees) Mez (Lauraceae): chemical composition, antioxidant capacity and biological properties of essential oil

The present study was undertaken to assess the potential uses of the essential oil obtained from Ocotea nutans (Nees) Mez. The hydrodistilled essential oil from O. nutans leaves was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Fifty-eight compounds representing 87,29% of the total leaf essential oil components were identified, of which biciclogermacrene(11.41%), germacrene-D (4.89%), bisabolol-11-ol(3.73%) and spathulenol (3.71%) were the major compounds. The essential oil from O. nutans were tested for antibacterial activity using the minimum inhibitory concentracion (MIC) method, Artemia salina method, larvicidal activity in Aedes aegypti, and antioxidant capacity.The antioxidant activity measured by the phosphomolybdenum complex and Prussian blue method had positive results. The minimum inhibitory concentration for the microorganisms tested allowed moderate inhibitionfor Enterococcus faecalis (MIC=500 µg/mL). Artemia salina were toxic to the organisms in the study (LC50= 71,70 µg /mL). The essential oil showed remarkable larvicidal activity potencial (LC50= 250 µg/mL). The present results showed thatO. nutans essential oil has potential biological uses