Composition and in vitro antimicrobial activity of pink pepper fruit essential oils / Composição e atividade antimicrobiana in vitro de óleos essenciais de frutos de pimenta-rosa

Abstract

The fruit of Aroeira, popularly called pink pepper, has aroused researchers interest due to the effects of the different constituents present in its essential oil. In Espírito Santo, the largest producer and exporter in the world since 2012, most pink pepper production is spontaneous and of great importance to rural producers. The aim of this work was to identify the chemical constituents and evaluate the antibacterial action of essential oils extracted from ripe pink pepper fruits (PPEO) obtained from six rural properties located in São Mateus-ES, coded as P5, P6, P7, P8, P9 and P10. Through chromatographic analysis (CG/MS), 13 compounds were detected, 10 monoterpenes and 3 sesquiterpenes, of which limonene (31.28%), delta3carene (28.71%) and alpha-pinene (15.01%) were the majority. In the agar diffusion test, the PPEO from the six farms showed inhibition against S. aureus, especially for the P6, P7, P8 and P10 oils, which did not differ significantly from the antibiotic Ampicillin used as a control. However, the essential oils tested were ineffective against E. coli. In the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) test, the bacteria most sensitive to all oils was S. aureus, presenting the lowest values and, in contrast, P. aeruginosa showed greater resistance to their action. The PPEO that showed the greatest effect compared to the others against all bacteria was P7