Search Results (2)

In this study, we performed the chemical characterization of Myrcia splendens (Sw.) DC. (Myrtaceae) essential oil from Amazonian Ecuador and the assessment of its bioactivity in terms of cytotoxic, antibacterial, and antioxidant activity as starting point for possible applicative uses. M. splendens essential oil, obtained by hydro-distillation, was analyzed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID): the major components were found to be trans-nerolidol (67.81%) and α-bisabolol (17.51%). Furthermore, we assessed the cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 (breast), A549 (lung) human tumor cell lines, and HaCaT (human keratinocytes) non-tumor cell line through 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) test: promising results in terms of selectivity and efficacy against the MCF-7 cell line (IC₅₀ of 5.59 ± 0.13 μg/mL at 48 h) were obtained, mainly due to α-bisabolol. Furthermore, antibacterial activity against Gram positive and negative bacteria were performed through High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) bioautographic assay and microdilution method: trans-nerolidol and β-cedren-9-one were the main molecules responsible for the low antibacterial effects against human pathogens. Nevertheless, interesting values of Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) were noticeable against phytopathogen strains. Radical scavenging activity performed by HPTLC bioautographic and spectrophotometric 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) approaches were negligible. In conclusion, the essential oil revealed a good potential for plant defense and anti-cancer applications. Full article

A library of 600 taxonomically diverse Panamanian plant extracts was screened for fungicidal, insecticidal, and herbicidal activities. A total of 19 active extracts were submitted to HPLC-based activity profiling, and extracts of Bocconia frutescens, Miconia affinis, Myrcia splendens, Combretum aff. laxum, and Erythroxylum macrophyllum were selected for the isolation of compounds. Chelerythrine (2), macarpine (3), dihydrosanguinarine (5), and arjunolic acid (8) showed moderate-to-good fungicidal activity. Myricetin-3-O-(6''-O-galloyl)-β-galactopyranoside (13) showed moderate insecticidal activity, but no compound with herbicidal activity was identified. Full article