Chemical diversity and antibacterial activity of volatile compounds from two Centrolobium paraense Tul. varieties.

This work presents a comparative study of the chemical composition of the essential oils obtained from two varieties of Centrolobium paraense (orinocense EO o and paraense EO p) from Venezuela. GC analyzed the oils, and the constituents were identified by GC-MS and retention indices. Eighteen compounds were identified in EO o, which made up 88.9 % of the oil, but only sixteen compounds were identified in EO p, which made up 95.5 % of the total oil. β-caryophyllene (35.1 %) and -humulene (35.3 %) are the main constituents of EO p. The main constituents of EO o are α-humulene (24.8 %), β-caryophyllene (14.3 %), caryophyllene oxide (18.33 %), and humulene epoxide II (16.86 %). The biological activity of both oils was assayed. They were found to be equally active against Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis, with MIC of 100 and 600 μL/mL respectively. This is the first report describing the chemical composition of the essential oil of these species and their antibacterial activity.