Chemical composition and antibacterial activity of the essential oil from bark of Ocotea puberula (Rich.) Ness

Abstract

Ocotea puberula (Rich.) Nees, known as canela-guaicá and canela-sebo, is a native woody species from Brazil. O. puberula has been used by indigenous communities to treat skin diseases and tumours. The aim of this work was to evaluate the chemical composition and antibacterial activity of the essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation from barks of O. puberula. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis showed spathulenol, β-pinene, bicyclogermacrene, germacrene D and α-pinene as the major volatile components. In the antibacterial activity, a very low response was demonstrated