Antifungal Activity and Chemical Constituents of the Essential Oil from Leaves of Nectandra longifolia (Ruiz & Pav.) Nees.

Abstract

“Yellow moena” (Nectandra longifolia: Lauraceae) is a fragrant leaves-possessing plant commonly used for timber purposes. Nevertheless, so far, there is not available information about its chemical composition. Thus, in the present work is described the components of the essential oil from N. longifolia leaves. The oil was extracted by steam distillation and analyzed by GC/FID  and GC/MS. Twenty eight compounds were therefore identified. The main components were found to be terpinen-4-ol (53.1%), α-terpinene (6.8%), α-phellandrene (4.5%), and β-pinene (3.8%). The chemical composition of essential oil from N. longifolia leaves was consequently in agreement to that of several neotropical Lauraceae plants. In addition, the oil exhibited good antifungal activity against F. oxysporum through dose-dependent mycelial growth inhibition (using amended media and fumigant assays).