Composición química y actividad antibacteriana del aceite esencial de Peperomia acuminata de los Andes venezolanos

Abstract

The genus Peperomia (Piperaceae) is well known for its ornamental species and ethnomedicinal uses. This paper aims to chemically characterize the essential oil of Peperomia acuminata Ruiz &Pav. from Mérida State, Venezuela, and determine its microbiological activity. The essential oil is obtained by hydrodistillation of the leaves and the separation of the components was performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Eight compounds (96.7%) were elucidated in the oil. The 2E dodecenal was found to be the major component (65%) followed by dodecanal (14.8%) and tetradecanal (9.2%). The essential oil showed high specifcity against Gram positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus ATCC (25923) and Enterococcus faecalis (29212) with a Minimum Inhibitory Concentration of 1 μL/mL. This is the frst report about chemical composition of the essential oil from this specie therefore an important contribution to the study of the genus Peperomia.