COMPARATIVE CHEMICAL EVALUATION AND ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF PIMENTA DIOICA ESSENTIAL OIL OBTAINED BY DIFFERENT EXTRACTION METHODS

Pimenta dioica leaves are an important source of volatile oils, showing potential antimicrobial properties. In this regard, the current study aimed the extraction of volatile constituents from P. dioica leaves by hydrodistillation (PDH) and supercritical carbon dioxide extraction (PDSFE). Volatile oil yield was 2.20% for PDH and 1.57% (wt/wt) for PDSFE. The obtained volatiles were analysed by GC-FID and GC-MS. For both samples, the main compound was eugenol (>82%), followed by chavicol (>10%). Antimicrobial activity of PHD, PDSFE, and pure eugenol was investigated by MIC and MBC methods against Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella Enteritidis. MIC values for PDH and eugenol were 1.25 mg.mL-1 against all tested bacteria, whereas for PDSFE, MIC values were 2.5 mg.mL-1 against the five microorganisms. Regardless of the extraction method and eugenol content, volatiles constituents extracted from P. dioica leaves revealed to be a promising natural antimicrobial agent.