Essential oil of Galinsoga parviflora leaves from Colombia

The chemical composition of the volatile compounds from the leaves of Galinsoga parviflora Cav. (Asteraceae) from Colombia was studied by GC and GC/MS. Eighty-eight volatile compounds were identified, of which the major ones were (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol (21.7%), beta-caryophyllene (12.4%), and 6-demethoxy-ageratochrome (14%). The leaf oil presented antimicrobial activities against the Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus.     

Essential oil of the leaves ofHyssopus seravschanicus from south Uzbekistan

V. L. Komorov Botanical Institute, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Leningrad. Leningrad State University. Translated from Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 1, pp. 123–125, January–February, 1990.     

Essential oil composition of Eucalyptus procera Dehnh. leaves from central Iran

The chemical composition of the essential oil of leaves of Eucalyptus procera Dehnh., cultivated in central Iran, was obtained by hydrodistillation and analysed by GC-MS. Forty-five constituents representing 99.6% of the total oil were identified. The main constituents of the oil were found to be 1,8-cineole (35.9%), α-pinene (25.6%) and viridiflorol (7.7%). Other representative compounds were identified as α-terpineol (3.6%), aromadendrene (3.5%) and trans-pinocarveol (3.0%).     

Essential oil from the leaves of Annona vepretorum: chemical composition and bioactivity

The essential oil from the leaves of Annona vepretorun was obtained by hydrodistillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus and analyzed by GC-MS and GC-FID. Eighteen compounds representing 98.1% of the crude essential oil were identified. The major compounds identified were bicyclogermacrene (43.7%), spathulenol (11.4%), alpha-felandrene (10.0%), alpha-pinene (7.1%), (E)-beta-ocimene (6.8%), germacrene D (5.8%), and p-cymene (4.2%). The trypanocidal activity against Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigote forms, as well as, the antimicrobial and antioxidant proprieties was investigated. The essential oil showed a potent trypanocidal activity with IC50 value of 31.9 +/-1.3 microg x mL(-1). For antimicrobial activity, the best result was observed against Candida tropicalis with a MIC value of 100 microg x mL(-1). For antioxidant capacity the essential oil showed weak activity.     

Essential oil from leaves of Lantana canescens and L. lopez-palacii grown in Colombia

The chemical composition of the volatile compounds from the leaves of Lantana canescens Kunth (Verbenaceae) and L. lopez-palacii Moldenke grown in Colombia were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. One hundred and thirty-nine volatile compounds were identified in L. canescens, of which the major ones were beta-caryophyllene (13.5%), germacrene D (10.3%) and 1-octen-3-ol (8.4%). In the oil obtained from L. lopez-palacii, eighty-three compounds were identified, of which the most prominent were 1-octen-3-ol (24.4%) and beta-caryophyllene (15.2%). The in vitro antibacterial activity of the L. lopez-palacii essential oil was studied against three bacterial strains using the disc diffusion method. No antimicrobial activity was found against Escherichia coli, Enterobacter sakazakii and Listeria monocytogenes.     

Essential oil composition of Vismia macrophylla leaves (Guttiferae)

The essential oil from Vismia macrophylla Kunth (Guttiferae) leaves, extracted by hydrodistillation, was analyzed by GC/MS. The oil obtained (yield 0.11%) contained twenty-eight compounds, which were identified from their retention indices and by comparison of their mass spectra with those in the Wiley GC-MS Library data base. The major components were beta-caryophyllene (20.1%), germacrene D (11.6%) and beta-elemene (7.0%).     

Essential oil composition of the leaves and stems of Meum athamanticum Jacq., from Spain

The essential oil of the leaves and stems of Meum athamanticum Jacq., has been extracted by steam distillation and analysed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The monoterpene fraction was predominant while the sesquiterpene one was practically absent. The principal constituents have been identified as (E)-beta-ocimene (29.6%), gamma-terpinene (17.9%), terpinolene (17.0%) and p-cymene (9.7%). Our results show that the chemical composition of the essential oil obtained of the leaves and stems of M. athamanticum from Spain is different to that obtained from plants of Germany, Italy and France.     

Essential oil from the leaves of Xylopia langsdorfiana (Annonaceae) as a possible spasmolytic agent

Xylopia langsdorfiana A. St.-Hil. &Tul. (Annonaceae) is popularly known in the northeast of Brazil as ‘pimenteira da terra’, and an essential oil (XL-OE) was extracted from its leaves. Since Xylopia species are cited in folk medicine and diterpenes from X. langsdorfiana have spasmolytic activity, this study aimed to investigate a possible spasmolytic action of XL-OE on smooth muscle models. XL-OE (243 and 729 μg/mL) showed low pharmacologic efficacy on guinea pig trachea and rat aorta and uterus. However, in guinea pig ileum, XL-OE (27–729 μg/mL) inhibited carbachol or histamine-induced phasic contractions (1 μM) in a significant and concentration-dependent manner. In addition, XL-OE (81 μg/mL) reduced fluorescence intensity in ileal myocytes stimulated by histamine, indicating a decrease in cytosolic calcium concentration, which could explain the spasmolytic activity. Thus, XL-OE proved to be a promising natural product to be used in gastrointestinal diseases acting by modulating the cytosolic calcium concentration.     

Essential oil ofPerovskia angustifolia from Kyrgyzystan

The water distilled essential oils from leaves ofPerovskia angustifolia (Labiatae) collected from three different localities in the Arslonbob mountains of Kyrgyzystan were analyzed by GC/MS. 1,8-Cineole (12.0–27.5%), -pinene (7.3–14.7%), epi-13-manool (3.8–12.6%) bornyl acetate (1.2–8.7%), camphene (2.5–6.8%), camphor (4.3–6.5%), -caryophyllene (3.2–6.5%), caryophyllene oxide (1.7–5.9%), -humulene (2.1–5.2%), humulene epoxide II (1.9–4.8%), caryophylladienol (1.4–4.3%), and borneol (3.0–3.2%) were found as major constituents.Materials presented at the 2nd International Conference of Natural Compounds.Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 3, pp. 386–388, May–June, 1997.