Influence of storage temperatures and storage time of dry leaves on patchouli [Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth.] essential oil

Patchouli [Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth.] is a plant of the family Lamiaceae, widely used as an essential oil in the cosmetics and perfumery industry. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of storage time and temperature of dry leaves on the patchouli essential oil content and chemical composition. The experiment was performed in a completely randomized design in a 6x2x2 factorial scheme, testing storage time (0, 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 weeks) and temperature (28°C and 33°C) of dry leaves of two patchouli genotypes (POG-015 and POG-021).  The variables essential oil content and chemical composition, and the identification of fungus during storage were evaluated. Results showed that the storage significantly influenced the essential oil content. Patchoulol was identified as the major compound in both genotypes, ranging from 55.05% to 68.77% (POG-15) and from 52.83% to 64.06% (POG-021). Based on the results of patchoulol, dry leaves of both genotypes (POG-015 and POG-021) can be stored for up to eight weeks at 28- 33°C without altering the essential oil quality

Antifungal activity of essential oils of Myrcia ovata chemotypes and their major compounds on phytopathogenic fungi

This work evaluated the antifungal activity of essential oils of Myrcia ovata chemotypes (MYRO-175, MYRO-156, MYRO-154, MYRO-165, and MYRO-015) and their major compounds (linalool, geraniol, citral, and (E)-nerolidol) on the phytopathogenic fungi Fusarium pallidoroseum (which causes melon postharvest rot) and Colletotrichum musae (which causes anthracnose in banana). The essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GCMS/FID. To evaluate the antifungal activity, the essential oils and their major compounds were tested at different concentrations (0.1; 0.3; 0.4; 0.5; 0.7; 1.0; 3.0, and 5.0 mL/L). The major compounds found in the essential oils were nerolic acid, linalool, geraniol, citral, and (E)-nerolidol. The essential oils of the plants MYRO-154, MYRO-165, and MYRO-015 had the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) (0.3 mL/L) for F. pallidoroseum and the lowest minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) (0.7 mL/L), for C. musae. Geraniol and citral had the lowest MFC (0.5 mL / L) for the two fungi tested. For F. pallidoroseum, the essential oils of the chemotypes were more effective than their major compounds. Conversely, the major compounds geraniol of the chemotype MYRO-156 (74.37%) and citral were more effective than their respective essential oils for C. musae. (E)-nerolidol and geraniol of the chemotype MYRO-015 (33.15%) were responsible for the antifungal activity of the essential oils of their respective chemotypes

Assessment of genetic diversity of a native population of Eplingiella fruticosa: a plant with therapeutic potential

Eplingiella fruticosa (Salzm. ex Benth.) Harley & J.F.B. Pastore, ex Hyptis fruticosa Salzm. ex Benth. is an aromatic and medicinal plant of the family Lamiaceae, found mainly in regions with intense anthropic activity. Information on the genetic diversity of this species is scarce. However, it can be assessed using molecular markers that identify the level of diversity among phenotypically identical individuals. The present study aimed to characterize the genetic diversity of a native population of E. fruticosa from the State of Sergipe using ISSR molecular markers. Samples of 100 plants were collected in 11 municipalities of the State of Sergipe and analyzed using eight ISSR primers, resulting in 72 informative bands. The cluster analysis obtained using the neighbor joining method resulted in three groups: Group I consisted of 50 plants, mainly from the municipalities of Areia Branca, Estância, Japaratuba, Moita Bonita, Pirambu, and Salgado; Group II was formed by 21 plants, with nine representatives from the municipality of Itaporanga d’Ajuda and 13 representatives from other municipalities; Group III was composed by 29 plants, being represented mainly by the municipalities of Malhada dos Bois and São Cristóvão. The smallest genetic distance occurred between plants EPF94 and EPF96 (0.250), and the greatest distance occurred between plants EPF50 and EPF96 (0.9778). The Shannon index had a mean value of 0.42, and diversity was considered moderate. Heterozygosity had a mean value of 0.267 and was considered low. Polymorphic information content (0.253) was considered moderately informative. Genetic diversity of E. fruticosa plants was intermediate, and the results of the present study can assist in the conservation and use of the genetic resources of this species

In vitro antifungal activity of Myrcia ovata essential oils and their major compounds against pathogens of citrus, sweet potato, and coconut

Myrcia ovata, an endemic species to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, presents antifungal properties. The phytopathogens Colletotrichum acutatum, Plenodomus destruens, and Thielaviopsis paradoxa are responsible for the diseases citrus postbloom fruit drop, sweet potato foot rot, and coconut stem bleeding, respectively. The antifungal activity of the essential oils of five M. ovata chemotypes (MYRO-159, nerolic acid chemotype; MYRO-180, nerolic acid + linalool chemotype; MYRO-388, geraniol chemotype; MYRO-157, citral + (E)-nerolidol chemotype; and MYRO-174, isopulegol + linalool chemotype), four major compounds (nerolic acid, nerolic acid + linalool, geraniol, and citral + (E)-nerolidol), and three pure compounds (citral, (E)-nerolidol, and linalool) against the fungi C. acutatum, P. destruens, and T. paradoxa were evaluated. For this, in vitro tests were conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications, testing concentrations (v/v) ranging from 0.01 to 1.0 μL.mL-1. All treatments presented toxicity at different levels to the three fungi. For C. acutatum, the essential oil from the individual MYRO-180 (nerolic acid + linalool chemotype) and its major compound showed the lowest Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Fungicidal Concentration (MFC) of 0.03 and 0.1 µL.mL-1, respectively. For P. destruens, the essential oil from the individual MYRO-159 (nerolic acid chemotype) presented the lowest MIC of 0.05 μL.mL-1. The nerolic acid + linalool chemotype and its major compound presented an MFC of 0.07 μL.mL-1. For T. paradoxa, the major compound citral + (E)-nerolidol stood out with the lowest MIC and MFC of 0.03 and 0.2 µL.mL-1, respectively. Linalool presented the lowest toxicity to the three tested fungi

Morphoagronomic characterization of Lantana camara L. germplasm

The medicinal and aromatic species Lantana camara is a bush that receives a lot of interest regarding ornamental use. However, due to its condition of invasive plant in natural environments, it suffers constant eradication attempts, which causes genetic erosion of the species. To work around this problem, a sample of the genetic variability of L. camara was saved in the Active Germplasm Bank of medicinal and aromatic plants of the Federal University of Sergipe (UFS). This study aimed to evaluate morphoagronomically 22 accessions of L. camara, collected in 15 municipalities in the state of Sergipe. To carry out morphoagronomic characterization, morphological and agronomic traits were analyzed. Phenotypic variability among the accessions of the L. camara collection for all the analyzed morphological quantitative and agronomic characteristics was observed. The means ranged from 4.91 to 6.90 cm for leaf length; from 2.81 to 5.03 cm for leaf width; from 1.32 to 1.87 for the leaf length/width ratio; from 9.59 to 22.98 mm2 for leaf area; from 99.00 to 215.00 cm for crown diameter; from 85.67 to 214.33 for plant height; and from 1.08 to 2.43 cm for stem diameter. Most accessions presented erect form. The mean number of flowers per inflorescence varied from 12 to 38 flowers. For the agronomic traits, we observed that the dry mass ranged from 49.86 to 649.04 g.plant-1. The mean content of essential oil ranged from 0.13 to 0.26% and yield between 0.10 and 1.55 mL.plant-1. The most divergent phenotypic accessions were LAC-001 (São Cristóvão) and LAC-038 (Moita Bonita) and the ones with the lowest divergence were LAC-004 (Itaporanga D'ajuda) and LAC-019 (Siriri). Thus, it was observed that the variables were efficient to differentiate the accessions and suggest the existence of genetic variability among them