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Chemical Composition and Antifungal Activity of Eugenia Uniflora L (Myrtaceae) Leaf Essential Oil

Abstract:

Introduction: The Myrtaceae family is composed of about 175 genera with about 5970 species, widely distributed, but with greater diversity in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. In Venezuela there are 20 native genera with more than 130 species in which Eugenia uniflora L is included. Objective: To determine the chemical composition of the essential oil, of the fresh leaves of the species Eugenia uniflora L., and its antifungal activity on Candida albicans, Candida krusei, Candida parapsilosis and Candida tropicalis. Methods: The fresh leaves of Eugenia uniflora L. were collected in April 2016 in "Dr. Luis Ruiz Terán" Garden of Medicinal Plants of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Bioanalysis, University of Los Andes, Libertador municipality of the state of Mérida, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The fresh leaves were liquefied and subjected to distillation by dragging with water vapor (3 h), using a Clevenger trap. The oil was preserved at 4-6 °C until it was used for biological tests. The oil components were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. The antibacterial activity was evaluated according to the diffusion method in agar with paper discs. Results: The oil yield obtained by hydrodistillation was 0.13 %. 24 compounds representing 96.81% of the total composition of the oil were identified and the majority of the components were bicyclogermacrene (22.38%), trans-β-ocimene (15.72%), myrcene (9.60%) and atractylone (7.60%). The oil showed antifungal activity on the four Candida strains studied. Conclusions: The chemical composition of Eugenia uniflora L. essential oil mostly contain hydrocarbon sesquiterpenes, hydrocarbon monoterpenes, components that correlate with its antifungal activity on Candida albicans, Candida krusei, Candida parapsilosis and Candida tropicalis. Therefore, Eugenia uniflora L. essential oil shows antifungal potential against strains of clinical importance.