Farmácia

Fitoterapia 76 (2005) 712 – 714 www.elsevier.com/locate/fitote

Short report

Antibacterial activity of the essential oil from Lippia aff. gracillis
O.D.L. Pessoa a,*, C.B.M. de Carvalho b, J.O.V.L. Silvestre b, M.C.L. Lima a, R.M. Neto a, F.J.A. Matos a, T.L.G. Lemos a a Departamento de Quımica Organica e Inorganica, Universidade Federal do Ceara, CP 12200, ´ ˆ ˆ ´ Fortaleza, Ceara, 60451-970, Brazil ´ b Departamento de Patologia e Medicina Legal, Universidade Federal do Ceara, CP 3163, ´ Fortaleza, Ceara, 60441-750, Brazil ´ Received 1 October 2003; accepted 15 July 2005 Available online 17 October 2005

Abstract The essential oil of fresh leaves of Lippia aff. gracillis was analyzed by GC/MS and evaluated for its antibacterial effects. The results showed a moderate antibacterial activity and confirm the traditional uses of L. aff. gracillis. D 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Lippia aff. gracillis; Essential oil; Antibacterial activity

1. Plant Lippia aff. gracillis (Verbenaceae), leaves collected in August 2002 from Horto de Plantas Medicinais–Laboratorio de Produtos Naturais, Universidade Federal do Ceara. ´ ´ Taxonomic identification (Voucher #EAC23427) was performed by botanists from The Royal Botanic Gardens Herbarium, at Kew, UK.

* Corresponding author. E-mail address: [e-mail] (O.D.L. Pessoa). 0367-326X/$ - see front matter D 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.fitote.2005.07.004

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2. Uses in traditional medicine Used for many purpose, especially as antimicrobial, antiseptic and to treat skin, mouth and throat diseases [1].

3. Previously isolated classes of constituents Essential oil [2].

4. Tested material Essential oil (yield: 0.5%). Chemical composition: a-thujene (0.8%), myrcene (2.1%), a-terpinene (1.6%), p-cymene (10.7%), 1,8-cineole (1.6%), a-terpinene (8.0%), linalool (0.6%), methyl thymol (3.9%), thymol (1.9%),