Spiranthera odoratissima ("manacá") has been popularly used as a blood cleanser, for liver and kidney diseases (tea from the leaves), as well as for muscle and stomach pains, headache and liver disorders (tea from the roots). The aim of this study was to evaluate the chemical composition of the essential oil and the antimicrobial activity of essential oil, crude ethanol extract and fractions of S. odoratissima leaves against Gram-positive and negative bacteria and Candida albicans. The crude extract of the leaves was obtained by maceration and was concentrated in a rotavapor, while the fractions were obtained by partition on column filter. The powdered leaves underwent hydrodistillation in a Clevenger apparatus and the obtained essential oil was analyzed by GC/MS. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated by using the agar dilution method for determining the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The major constituents of the essential oil were β-caryophyllene (20.64%), γ-muurolene (17.70%), bicyclogermacrene (14.73%) and δ-cadinene (13.40%). The main results for S. odoratissima antimicrobial activity were found against Staphylococcus epidermidis (crude ethanol extract, MIC of 0.098 mg/mL), C. albicans (hexane fraction, MIC of 0.049 mg/mL), Bacillus cereus (dichloromethane fraction, MIC of 0.098 mg/mL), Micrococcus roseus (ethyl acetate fraction, MIC of 0.049 mg/mL) and M. roseus, Micrococcus luteus, B. cereus and C. albicans (methanol fraction, MIC of 0.391 mg/mL).
medicinal plants; "manacá"; Rutaceae; Cerrado; β-caryophyllene
