essential oils of ripe fruits from schinus terebinthifolius (anacardiaceae), obtained using a pilot extractor and a clevenger apparatus were chemically characterized. due the high amount of (-)- α-pinene in both oils, this monoterpene was tested against the protozoan parasite trypanosoma cruzi, showing a moderate potential (ic50 63.56 μg/ml) when compared to benznidazole (ic50 43.14 μg/ml). otherwise, (-)- α-pinene oxide did not showed anti-trypanosomal activity (ic50 > 400 μg/ml) while (-)-pinane showed an ic50 of 56.50 μg/ml. the obtained results indicated that the epoxydation of α-pinene results to the loss of the anti-parasitic activity while its hydrogenation product, contributed slightly to the increased activity.
