Activity of plant extracts, essential oils and pure compounds against fungi contaminating foodstuffs and causing infections in human beings and animals: a six-year experience (1995-2000)

The antifungal activity of plant extracts, essential oils and pure natural compounds has been evaluated against some fungal strains belonging to Aspergillus, Pyricularia, Fusarium, Botrytis, Candida, Saprolegnia and Microsporum genera. These fungi contaminate food-stuffs and cause infections in men and animals. Most of the tested plants belong to Lamiaceae and Asteraceae familie

Volatiles emission patterns of different plant organs and pollen of Citrus limon

The volatiles emitted in vivo by different plant parts of Citrus limon (Rutaceae) have been identified by mean of head space-solid phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analyses. In particular, the profiles of flower buds, mature flowers, petals, stamens, gynaecium, pericarp of unripe and ripe fruits, young and adult leaves and pollen have been examined. Furthermore, the essential oil obtained from expression of ripe pericarp was studied. Volatiles were produced in distinctive amounts by the different plant organs, creating an interesting contrast, particularly within the flower parts: the highest amount of limonene (62.5%) was emitted by gynaecium, followed by stamens (22.9%) and petals (3.1%). Pollen did not produce limonene at all. The same compound is contained in higher amounts in the young leaves than in old ones (65.3% versus 30.1%). A possible defensive role of limonene and other volatiles, mainly terpene aldehydes, produced by young leaves has been hypothesize

Analysis of the essential oil of the leaves and flawers/fruits of Eupatorium cannabinum L. from South Tuscany (Central Italy)

The essential oils obtained from leaves and flowers/fruits of Eupatorium cannabinum collected on Amiata Mount (South Tuscany, Italy) were studied by GC and GC/MS. Eighty-three constituents were identified in both oils, the major oxygenated components being methyl thymol (7.8% and 12.2%, respectively) and spathulenol (7.3% and 10.8%, respectively) in the leaf and flower/fruit oils, respectively

Variability of the essential oil of Viola etrusca

Essential oils obtained from different populations of Viola etrusca from Italy have been analysed to verify the phenotypic discontinuity observed in a previous study. All of the essential oils contained methyl salicylate as a main constituent. However, multivariate analysis showed differences among some populations, in particular between northern and southern ones. Results suggest that this species could be undergoing a slow schizogenetic differentiation process due to its genetic isolatio

GC-MS analysis of the essential oils of ripe fruits, roots and flowering aerial parts of Elaeoselinum asclepium subsp. meoides growing in Sicily

The compositions of the essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation of the ripe fruits, flowering aerial parts and roots of Elaeoselinum asclepium (L.) Bertol subsp. meoides (Desf.) Fiori (Apiaceae) were determined by GC-MS analysis. All the analyzed parts were very rich in α-pinene (77.1%, 92.2% and 60.8%, respectively). Other compounds detected in appreciable amounts were α-pinene (4.3%, 4.0% and 8.2%), and sabinene (11.9% in ripe fruits; 12.8% in aerial parts). The plant synthesizes different classes of monoterpenes, including pinane, camphane, thujane, menthane, and fenchane derivatives, besides some acyclic monoterpenes. Trace amounts of sesquiterpenes and diterpenes were also detecte

Analysis of the essential oil of the aerial parts of Viola etrusca from Monte Labbro (South Tuscany, Italy) and in vivo analysis of flower volatiles using SPME

The composition of the essential oil of the endemic Viola etrusca Erben from Monte Labbro (Italy) has been studied for the first time. It was made up almost exclusively of methyl salicylate (96%), together with many other mono- and sesquiterpenes and non-terpenic alcohols and aldehydes. In addition, the SPME technique has been used to evaluate the volatiles emitted in vivo by different-coloured flower

Composition of the essential oils from leafy parts of the shoots, flowers and fruits of Eryngium amethystinum from Amiata Mount (Tuscany, Italy)

The essential oils obtained from the leafy parts of the shoots, inflorescences and fruits of Eryngiumnext amethystinum (Apiaceae) from Italy have been studied. The essential oil from the inflorescences was characterised by methyl-derivatives of benzaldehyde (26.4%) and by some phenylpropanoids (3.0%) such as eugenol and (E)-methyl isoeugenol. The essential oil of leafy parts of the shoots showed a higher percentage of sesquiterpenes (31.3%) than monoterpenes (20.2%). The main differences between the two essential oils can be referred to α-pinene and germacrene D: the essential oil of the inflorescences contained much more α-pinene than the other one (25.6% vs. 11.8%), while the contrary is true for germacrene D (14.5% vs. 31.3%

Investigation of the essential oil of feminine cones, leaves and branches of Taxodium distichum from Italy

The essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation from feminine cones, leaves and branches of adult Taxodium distichum trees have been studied by GC and GC/MS. Qualitative and quantitative differences have been detected among the three oils studied, in particular the essential oil of the feminine cones contained mainly monoterpene hydrocarbons with limonene (18.7%) and α-pinene (71.3%) being predominant. The leaf and branch oils were also rich in α-pinene (79.7% and 53.7%) in addition to more oxygenated monoterpenes and sesquiterpene hydrocarbon

Analysis of the spontaneous volatile emission of different aerial parts of caper (Capparis spinosa L.)

Capparis spinosa L. is a perennial eremophyte shrub, widely distributed in Mediterranean Europe: in Italy it is commonly found as a ruderal species growing on and covering walls of the cities. Its highly developed root and xylem systems are the reason of its ability to survive in both cold and heat stressed environments, as they confer the plant the capability of using the groundwater resources (Yin et al., 2014) and the ability of growing on very dry spots, like walls and rocky coastal areas (Kulisic-Bilusic et al., 2010). We analysed the spontaneous volatile emission of different aerial parts of caper (Capparis spinosa L.) by means of HS-SPME-GC/MS. The samples included leaves, buds, sepals, seeds, fruits, pistils, stamens, petals and flowers; they were randomly collected from specimens growing as wild, ruderal plants on the medieval walls of Pisa (Italy). We identified 178 different compounds of which, in different proportion based on the type of sample, the main ones were (E)-β-ocimene, methyl benzoate, linalool, β-caryophyllene, α- guaiene, germacrene D, bicyclogermacrene, germacrene B, (E)-nerolidol, isopropyl tetradecanoate and hexahydrofarnesyl acetone. We carried the multivariate statistical analysis of the results, with both the HCA (Hierarchical Cluster Analysis) and PCA (Principal Component Analysis) method. The analyses seem to point out that the parameter leading the emission patterns is the function of the studied sample: the flowers samples showed differences in the emission profile between their fertile and sterile portion, and between the other parts of the plant. The green parts emission profiles group them together in a cluster of their own and they are different from those of seeds and fruits. Furthermore, we hydrodistilled caper fully bloomed flowers and analysed its composition. Literature reports analyses of the essential oil of caper seeds (Ara et al., 2014; Yin et al., 2014), fruits (Afsharypuor et al., 1998; Yin et al., 2014), roots (Afsharypuor et al., 1998), leaves (Afsharypuor et al., 1998) and floral buds (Kulisic-Bilusic et al., 2010). The bloomed flowers essential oil volatile profile significantly differs from those of the essential oils obtained from other parts of Capparis spinosa reported in the literature: it is the only volatile oil rich in oxygenated sesquiterpenes (mainly (E)-nerolidol and (E)-nerolidol acetate) and oxygenated monoterpenes (mainly linalool)