Biological properties and chemical composition of essential oil from Nectandra megapotamica (Spreng.) Mez. leaves (Lauraceae)

Chemical composition of essential oil from Lindera caesia Reinw. ex Fern.-Vill. and its antifungal, antibiofilm, and molecular docking studies

The chemical composition, antifungal, antibiofilm, and molecular docking studies of the essential oil obtained from Lindera caesia were investigated. A total of thirty-nine components (96.7%) were identified using gas chromatography (GC-FID) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The major components included terpinen-4-ol (26.3%), neo-intermedeol (23.2%), eudesma-4,11-dien-3-one (10.4%), and o-cymene (5.3%). The antifungal activity was tested against Candida albicans and Streptococcus mutans using the broth microdilution assay, whereas the microbial biofilms were determined using a semi-quantitative static biofilm. The essential oil exhibited activity against C. albicans (MIC 125 µg/mL) and S. mutans (MIC 250 µg/mL), and increased the biofilm of C. albicans by 31.25% when treated with 500 µg/mL. The molecular docking study shows neo-intermedeol, eudesma-4,11-dien-3-one, α-selinene, and β-selinene as the good candidate to target Erg11 with a binding energy of -7.3 kcal/mol. These findings demonstrated that the essential oil may have potential in dental application for caries prevention.

Prospecting Plant Extracts and Bioactive Molecules with Antimicrobial Activity in Brazilian Biomes: A Review

Antimicrobial resistance is currently one of the greatest threats to global health, food security, and development. In this aspect, medicinal plants have been studied to support the development of viable alternatives to prevent and treat infectious diseases. This study aimed to perform a review of the literature comprising the antimicrobial activity of vegetable species from Brazilian biomes. We selected 67 original scientific publications about extracts, fractions, or isolated molecules from plants in the Brazilian biomes, published between 2016 and 2020 in Pubmed, ScienceDirect, and Scielo. Data demonstrated that 98 plant species, especially collected in the Cerrado, Atlantic Forest, and Caatinga biomes, were tested against 40 fungi and 78 bacterial strains. Bioactive fractions of Eucalyptus globulus methanolic stump wood extract were active against Candida albicans and C. tropicalis (MIC 2.50 µg/mL). The catechin purified from Banisteriopsis argyrophylla leaves had activity against C. glabrata (MIC 2.83 µg/mL) and ethanolic extract obtained from Caryocar coriaceum bark and fruit pulp exhibited MIC of 4.1 µg/mL on Microsporum canis. For bacteria, compounds isolated from the dichloromethane extract of Peritassa campestris, lectin extracted from a saline extract of Portulaca elatior and essential oils of Myrciaria pilosa exhibited significant effect against Bacillus megaterium (MIC 0.78 µg/mL), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MIC 4.06 µg/mL) and Staphylococcus aureus strains (MIC 5.0 µg/mL), respectively. The findings support the antimicrobial and bioeconomic potential of plants from Brazilian biodiversity and their promising health applications.

Chemical composition, in vitro larvicidal and antileishmanial activities of the essential oil from Citrus reticulata Blanco fruit peel

Numerous studies have investigated the chemical composition and biological activities of essential oils from different Citrus species fruit peel, leaves and flowers. This paper aims to investigate the chemical composition, larvicidal and antileishmanial activities of essential oil from Citrus reticulata fruit peel (CR-EO). CR-EO was obtained by hydrodistillation in a Clevenger-type apparatus and its chemical composition was analyzed by GC-MS and GC-FID. Limonene (85.7%), ɣ-terpinene (6.7%) and myrcene (2.1%) were identified as its major components. CR-EO showed high activity against promastigote forms of Leishmania amazonensis (IC50 = 8.23 µg/mL). CR-EO also exhibited high larvicidal activity against third instar Aedes aegypti larvae at a lethal concentration (LC50 = 58.35 µg/mL) and 100% mortality at 150 µg/mL. This study suggests, for the first time, the potential use of CR-EO against this important mosquito-borne viral disease caused by the genus Aedes.