ABSTRACT
Essential oils from Mentha piperita, Cymbopogon citratus, Rosmarinus officinalis, Peumus
boldus and Foeniculum vulgare were
extracted by hydrodistillation, chemically characterized and quantified by
GC/MS and GC/FID. The principal componentes in the essential oil of M. piperita (carvone and limonene), C. citratus (geranial, neral and
myrcene), R. officinalis (1,8-cineole, camphor and α-pinene), P. boldus (α-terpinyl formate, p-cymene and
1,8-cineole) and F. vulgare (methyl
chavicol, limonene and fenchone) were identified. The oils were tested for
antioxidant activity employing the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl)
radical-capture method, the oxidation of the β-carotene/linoleic acid system, and the ABTS radical-capture method. The
essential oils were not effective. The antioxidant activities of the oils were
determined by the hydroxyl method, and the highest activity (62.80%) was
observed with the essential oil from M.
piperita. Activities of 1.54 and 1.82 μg μg-1, respectively, were observed for the essential oils from C. citratus and P. Boldus using the phosphomolybdenum method. No activity was observed with respect to reducing
power. The essential oil from C. citratus was effective in inhibiting the growth of L. monocytogenes (15.63 mg·L-1), S. choleraesuis (15.63 mg·L-1) and E. coli (31.25 mg·L-1), and the essential oil from P.
boldus inhibited the growth of S.
aureus (62.5 mg·L-1). No essential oil inhibited the growth of P. aeruginosa. A low antioxidant
activity and a promising antibacterial activity were observed for these
essential oils.
Share and Cite:
Rezende, D. , Souza, R. , Magalhães, M. , Silva Caetano, A. , Sousa Carvalho, M. , de Souza, E. , de Lima Guimarães, L. , Nelson, D. , Batista, L. and das Graças Cardoso, M. (2017) Characterization of the Biological Potential of the Essential Oils from Five Species of Medicinal Plants.
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
8, 154-170. doi:
10.4236/ajps.2017.82012.