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Chemical variability of essential oils of Protium colombianum from two tropical life zones and their in vitro activity against isolates of Fusarium

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Abstract

There is considerable interest in finding replacements for the synthetic fungicides and preservatives that are currently used to control fungal pathogens; however, any alternative compounds must be safe and must prevent the development of microbial resistance. In this regard, essential oils have received special attention. Protium colombianum Cuatrecasas is an endemic tree found in tropical rainforests and possesses aromatic and resinous characteristics. To date, there have been no reports concerning the chemistry of this species, which belongs to a genus that represents an interesting source of essential oils that are occasionally used as antimicrobial agents. Therefore, the chemical composition of the essential oils found in P. colombianum collected from two life zones over a five-month period was analyzed using gas-chromatography/mass-spectrometry. A total of 92 components, comprising 97.7–99.9 % of the total composition, were identified based on their mass spectra and the retention indices. Precedence markers were identified for each life zone, and seasonality affected the samples from one life zone when rainfall was maximum. The in vitro activity against Fusarium oxysporum isolates from carnation and chrysanthemum, as well as a Fusarium solani isolate from chrysanthemum, was tested by determining the minimum inhibitory concentration. Assays using essential oils and control substances showed that terpenoid and phenolic compounds are mainly responsible for the observed anti-fungal activity. These results suggest that P. colombianum essential oils exhibit cytotoxicity against Fusarium isolates and that the search for new sources of anti-fungal essential oils should include sources that contain different ratios of terpenoid and phenolic compounds.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Universidad EAFIT for financial support and to professor Dr. Valeska Villegas for donating the fungal isolates and for providing support with laboratory procedures. This study also received financial support from Universidad de Antioquia (CODI-Estrategia de Sostenibilidad GISB 2014–2015).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Grupo de Investigación en Ciencias Biológicas y Bioprocesos - CIBIOP, Departamento de Ingeniería de Procesos, Universidad EAFIT, Carrera 49 No. 7 sur 50, Medellín, Colombia

    Daniel Carvajal

  2. Grupo de Investigación en Sustancias Bioactivas, Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y Alimentarias, Universidad de Antioquia UdeA, Calle 70 No. 52-21, Medellín, Colombia

    Rafael Alvarez & Edison Osorio

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  1. Daniel Carvajal
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  2. Rafael Alvarez
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  3. Edison Osorio
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Correspondence to Edison Osorio.

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Communicated by M.B. Isman.

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Carvajal, D., Alvarez, R. & Osorio, E. Chemical variability of essential oils of Protium colombianum from two tropical life zones and their in vitro activity against isolates of Fusarium . J Pest Sci 89, 241–248 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-015-0667-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-015-0667-x

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