title: Essential oils of medicinal plants from the central andes of Argentina: chemical composition, and antifungal, antibacterial, and insect-repellent activities.
abstract: The antifungal, antibacterial, and insect-repellent activities of the essential oils (EOs) of Acantholippia seriphioides, Artemisia mendozana, Gymnophyton polycephalum, Satureja parvifolia, Tagetes mendocina, and Lippia integrifolia, collected in the Central Andes area, province of San Juan, Argentina, were investigated. The dermatophytes Microsporum gypseum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, and T. rubrum were inhibited by the EOs of G. polycephalum, L. integrifolia, and S. parvifolia, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) between 31.2 and 1000 μg/ml. Moreover, all EOs presented moderate activity against the bacteria tested, and the L. integrifolia and G. polycephalum EOs showed excellent repellent properties against Triatoma infestans, the Chagas disease vector, with repellency values between 60 and 100%. The A. seriphioides, G. polycephalum, and L. integrifolia EOs, obtained by hydrodistillation, were characterized by GC-FID and GC/MS analyses. The highest number of components (40) was identified in L. integrifolia EO, which, along with that of A. seriphioides, contained important amounts of oxygenated monoterpenes (44.35 and 29.72%, resp.). Thymol (27.61%) and carvacrol (13.24%) were the main components of A. seriphioides EO, and borneol, lippifoli-1(6)-en-5-one, and terpinen-4-ol (>8.5%) were the principal compounds of L. integrifolia EO. These results support the idea that oxygenated monoterpenes are the bioactive fractions of the EOs. Finally, the study shows that these Andean species might be used to treat superficial fungal infections and to improve the local Chagas disease situation by vector-control.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biotecnología-Instituto de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Nacional de San Juan, Av. Libertador General San Martín 1109 (O), San Juan, Argentina.
authors.forename: Beatriz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: López
authors.forename: Lorena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Luna
authors.forename: María B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Agüero
authors.forename: Liliana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Aragón
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tapia
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zacchino
authors.forename: María L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: López
authors.forename: Julio
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zygadlo
authors.forename: Gabriela E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Feresin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001118:Argentina; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000188:drug therapy; D005658:Fungi / Q000187:drug effects; D007302:Insect Repellents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007313:Insecta / Q000187:drug effects; D009181:Mycoses / Q000188:drug therapy; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000935:Antifungal Agents; D007302:Insect Repellents; D009822:Oils, Volatile