title: Chemical composition and antifungal activity of essential oils and supercritical CO2 extracts of Apium nodiflorum (L.) Lag.
abstract: Aerial parts of Apium nodiflorum collected in Portugal and Italy were submitted to hydrodistillation; also a supercritical fluid extract was obtained from Italian plants. The extracts were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Both essential oils, obtained from Portuguese and Italian plants, posses high content of phenylpropanoids (51.6 vs. 70.8%); in the former, the percentage split in myristicin (29.1%) and dillapiol (22.5%), whereas in the latter, the total percentage is only of dillapiol (70.8%). The co-occurrence of myristicin and dillapiol is frequent because dillapiol results from enzymatic methoxylation of myristicin. Antimicrobial activity of phenylpropanoids has been patented, what suggest the potential of plants with high amounts of these compounds. Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal lethal concentration, determined according to NCCLS, were used to evaluate the antifungal activity of the essential oils against yeasts, Aspergillus species and dermatophytes. Essential oils exhibited higher antifungal activity than other Apiaceae against dermatophytes, with MIC ranging from 0.04 to 0.32 μl/ml. These results support the potential of A. nodiflorum oil in the treatment of dermatophytosis and candidosis.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento della Scienza della Vita e dell'Ambiente-Macrosezione di Botanica e Orto Botanico, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Viale Sant' Ignazio, 09123, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maxia
authors.forename: Danilo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Falconieri
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Piras
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Porcedda
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Marongiu
authors.forename: Maria Assunta
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Frau
authors.forename: Maria J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
authors.forename: Célia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cabral
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cavaleiro
authors.forename: Lígia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Salgueiro
mesh_terms: D019661:Apiaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D003883:Arthrodermataceae / Q000187:drug effects; D001230:Aspergillus / Q000187:drug effects; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000378:metabolism; D025924:Chromatography, Supercritical Fluid / Q000379:methods; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D007558:Italy; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011174:Portugal
chemical_list: D009822:Oils, Volatile; D010936:Plant Extracts; D002245:Carbon Dioxide