The chemical composition of the essential oils of Melaleuca armillaris Sm., Melaleuca styphelioides Sm. and Melaleuca acuminata F. Muell., collected in Tunisia, was studied by means of GC and GC-MS analysis. In all, 46 compounds were identified, 38 for M. armillaris, 20 for M. acuminata and eight for M. styphelioides, respectively. The presence of a sesquiterpenic fraction (52.2%) characterized the oil from M. armillaris; M. sthypheliodes oil was rich in methyl eugenol, a phenolic compound (91.1%), while M. acuminata oil is mainly constituted by oxygenated monoterpenoids (95.6%). The essential oils were evaluated for their in vitro potentially phytotoxic activity against germination and initial radicle growth of Raphanus sativus L., Lepidium sativum L., Sinapis arvensis L., Triticum durum L. and Phalaris canariensis L. seeds. The radicle elongation of five seeds was inhibited at the highest doses tested, while germination of all seeds was not affected. Moreover, the essential oils showed low antimicrobial activity against eight selected microorganisms.
References
[1]
Liu, X.; Zu, Y.G.; Fu, Y.J.; Yao, L.P.; Gu, C.B.; Wang, W.; Efferth, T. Antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity towards cancer cells of Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil. Eur. Food Res. Technol 2009, 229, 247–253.
[2]
Jones, M.R.; Julia, E.J.; Victor, R. Steam distillation of tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) oil. J. Sci. Food Agric 1992, 58, 49–53.
[3]
Southwell, I.A. Australian tea tree oil of Melaleuca terpinene-4-ol type. Chem. Aust 1988, 55, 400–402.
[4]
Altman, P. Australian tea tree oil. Aust. J. Pharm 1988, 69, 276–278.
[5]
Lang, G.; Buchbauer, G. A review on recent research results (2008–2010) on essential oils as antimicrobials and antifungals. A review. Flavour Frag. J 2012, 27, 13–39.
[6]
Rice, E.L. Allelopathy, 2nd ed ed.; Academic Press: London, UK; p. 1984.
[7]
Yatagai, M. Allelopathy, control of plant ecosystem by plant chemical components: Chemical characteristics and activity of plant odor components. Aroma Res 2007, 8, 408–413.
[8]
Chabir, N.; Romdhane, M.; Valentin, A.; Moukarzel, B.; Marzoug, H.N.; Brahim, N.B.; Mars, M.; Bouajila, J. Chemical study and antimalarial, antioxidant, and anticancer activities of Melaleuca armillaris (Sol Ex Gateau) Sm essential oil. J. Med. Food 2011, 14, 1383–1388.
[9]
Chabir, N.; Ben Brahim, N.; Mars, M.; Romdhane, M. Influence of ultrasons on quality and quantity of essential oils Melaleuca armillaris cultivated in Tunisia. Acta Hortic. 2010, 853, 277–284.
[10]
Hayouni, E.A.; Bouix, M.; Abedrabba, M.; Leveau, J.Y.; Hamdi, M. Mechanism of action of Melaleuca armillaris (Sol. Ex Gaertu) Sm. essential oil on six LAB strains as assessed by multiparametric flow cytometry and automated microtiter-based assay. Food Chem 2008, 111, 707–718.
[11]
Silva, C.J.; Barbosa, L.C.; Maltha, C.R.; Pinheiro, A.L.; Ismail, F.M. Comparative study of the essential oils of seven Melaleuca (Myrtaceae) species grown in Brazil. Flavour Frag. J 2007, 22, 474–478.
[12]
Farag, R.S.; Shalaby, A.S.; El-Baroty, G.A.; Ibrahim, N.A.; Ali, M.A.; Hassan, E.M. Chemical and biological evaluation of the essential oils of different Melaleuca species. Phytother. Res 2004, 18, 30–35.
[13]
Farag, R.S.; Daw, Z.Y.; Mahassen, M.A.; Safaa, H.M. Biochemical and biological studies on some tea trees (Melaleuca spp.) essential oil. Adv. Food Sci 1998, 20, 153–162.
[14]
Smith, H.G.; Carter, P.G.; Read, J. Phellandrenes. II. J. Chem. Soc. Trans 1924, 125, 930–940.
[15]
Smith, H.G. Occurrence of l-phellandrene in the oil of Meleluca acuminata. J. Proc. R. Soc. N. S. W 1922, 56, 159–161.
[16]
De Martino, L.; Mancini, E.; Marandino, A.; de Almeida, L.F.R.; de Feo, V. Chemistry and antigerminative activity of essential oils and monoterpenoids from Mediterranean Plants. Curr. Bioact. Compd 2012, 8, 13–49.
[17]
De Martino, L.; de Feo, V.; Formisano, C.; Mignola, E.; Senatore, F. Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oils from three chemotypes of Origanum vulgare L. ssp. hirtum (Link) Ietswaart growing wild in Campania (Southern Italy). Molecules 2009, 14, 2735–2746.
[18]
Verdeguer, M.; Blazquez, M.A.; Boira, H. Chemical composition and herbicidal activity of the essential oil from a Cistus ladanifer L. population from Spain. Nat. Prod. Res 2012, 26, 1602–1609.
[19]
Yatagai, M.; Ohira, T.; Nakashima, K. Composition, miticidal activity and growth regulation effect on radish seeds of extracts from Melaleuca species—A mechanism of toxin transport from Eucayptus globulus. Biochem. Syst. Ecol 1998, 26, 713–722.
[20]
Bassolé, I.H.N.; Juliani, H.R. Essential Oils in Combination and Their Antimicrobial Properties. Molecules 2012, 17, 3989–4006.
[21]
Griffin, G.S.; Wyllie, G.S.; Markham, L.J.; Leach, D.N. The role of structure and molecular properties of terpenoids in determining their antimicrobial activity. Flavour Frag. J 1999, 14, 322–332.
[22]
Carson, C.F.; Riley, T.V. Antimicrobial activity of the major components of the essential oil of Melaleuca alternifolia. J. Appl. Microb 1995, 78, 264–269.
[23]
Southwell, I.A.; Hayes, A.J.; Markham, J.L.; Leach, D.N. The search for optimally bioactive Australian tea tree oil. Acta Hortic 1993, 334, 265–275.
[24]
European Pharmacopoeia, 5th ed ed.; Council of Europe: Strasbourg Cedex, France, 2004; Volume I, pp. 217–218.
[25]
Jennings, W.; Shibamoto, T. Qualitative Analysis of Flavour and Fragrance Volatiles by Glass Capillary Gas Chromatography; Academic Press: New York, NY, USA, 1980.
[26]
Davies, N.W. Gas chromatographic retention indices of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes on methyl silicone and Carbowax 20M phases. J. Chromatogr 1990, 503, 1–24.
[27]
Adams, R.P. Identification of Essential Oil Components by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectroscopy, 4th ed ed.; Allured Publishing: Carol Stream, IL, USA, 2007.
[28]
Bewley, D.; Black, M. Seeds: Physiology of Development and Germination; Plenum Press: New York, NY, USA, 1985.
[29]
Sokal, R.R.; Rohlf, F.J. Biometry, 2nd ed ed.; W.H. Freeman and Company: New York, NY, USA; p. 1981.
[30]
Barry, A. The Antimicrobic Susceptibility Test: Principles and Practices; Lea and Febiger: Philadelphia, PA, USA, 1976.
[31]
Bonsignore, L.; Loy, G.; Secci, D.; Delogu, A.; Palmieri, G. A preliminary microbiological screening of Sardinian pants. Fitoterapia 1990, 61, 339–341.
[32]
Koneman, E.W.; Allen, S.D.; Janda, W.M.; Schreckenberg, P.C.; Winn, W.C. Color Atlas and Textbook of Diagnostic Microbiology; Lippincott-Raven: Philadelphia, PA, USA, 1997; pp. 784–785.
