title: Chemical compositions and antimicrobial activity of the essential oils of Piper abbreviatum, P. erecticaule and P. lanatum (Piperaceae).
abstract: The study was designed to examine the chemical composition and antimicrobial activities of essential oils extracted from the aerial parts of three Piper species: Piper abbreviatum, P. erecticaule and P. lanatum, all from Malaysia. GC and GC/MS analysis showed qualitative and quantitative differences between these oils. GC and GC-MS analysis of P. abbreviatum, P. erecticaule and P. lanatum oils resulted in the identification of 33, 35 and 39 components, representing 70.5%, 63.4% and 78.2% of the components, respectively. The major components of P. abbreviatum oil were spathulenol (11.2%), (E)-nerolidol (8.5%) and β-caryophyllene (7.8%), whereas P. erecticaule oil mainly contained β-caryophyllene (5.7%) and spathulenol (5.1%). Borneol (7.5%), β-caryophyllene (6.6%) and α-amorphene (5.6%) were the most abundant components in P. lanatum oil. Antimicrobial activity was carried out using disc diffusion and broth micro-dilution method against nine microorganisms. All of the essential oils displayed weak activity towards Gram-positive bacteria with MIC values in the range 250-500 μg/mL. P. erecticaule oil showed the best activity on Aspergillus niger (MIC 31.3 μg/mL), followed by P. lanatum oil (MIC 62.5 μg/mL). This study demonstrated that the essential oils have potential as antimicrobial agents and may be useful in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries.
authors: Wan Mohd Nuzul Hakimi
authors: WM
authors: Wan Salleh
authors: Farediah
authors: F
authors: Ahmad
authors: Khong Heng
authors: KH
authors: Yen
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000494:pharmacology*; D031701:Piper / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D009822:Oils, Volatile