EFECTO DEL ACEITE ESENCIAL DE Piper marginatum Jacq. Y SUS COMPONENTES SOBRE Xanthomonas albilineans (Ashby) DAWSON

essential oils are a group of promising products as pesticides. in cuba, they have been little explored as an alternative source of plant protection products, and their future implementation requires of basic research on the chemical and biological activities of these compounds. thus, the aim of this study was to establish the bacteriostatic and / or bactericidal effect of piper marginatum jacq. oil against xanthomonas albilineans (ashby) dawson and identify the components responsible for this effect. the essential oil of p. marginatum was obtained by hydrodistillation in a clevenger. its yield was determined and its chemical composition was investigated by gc / ms. the minimum inhibitory concentration (mic) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (mbc) against x. albilineans were determined by the method of serial dilutions. the components responsible for the biological activity were identified by fractionating the essential oil by dry chromatography, and the fractions were tested against the above mentioned bacterium. this oil has a strong antibacterial activity with mic and mbc of 0,12 mg / ml. the components responsible for the biological activity observed were the oxygenates, mainly a mixture of isosafrole and nothosmyrnol. the essential oil of p. marginatum showed potential to be developed as an antibacterial agent to control x. albilineans, considering its strong bactericidal activity against this important bacterium.