Abstract:
Plants have been a source of medical
relief for diseases and ailments for millennia, and
among this large list of medicinal plants includes
the Peruvian pepper tree (Schinus molle). This
species produces various compounds with
antibacterial properties, such as alkaloids,
flavonoids, phenols, and terpenes. This study was
aimed at investigating the chemical composition,
antioxidant, and antimicrobial activity of S. molle
essential oil extracts collected from Palapye on
bacterial and yeast colonies as a means to determine
the antimicrobial efficacy. Fruit and leaf essential
oils of S. molle were extracted using ultrasonic assisted hydrodistillation. Using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS), 19
compounds were identified from fruit essential oil
while only two were identified from the leaf
essential oil. Antioxidant activity measured by 2,2-
diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2’-azino-bis 3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) and
total phenolic content (TPC) showed significantly
higher antioxidant activity in the fruit essential oil
as compared to the leaf counterpart. Furthermore,
antimicrobial activity of the essential oils was
determined against bacterial colonies of
Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, and
the fungi C. albicans using agar disc diffusion
assay. Our results showed one-third efficacy against
bacteria as compared to the commercial broad spectrum antibiotic Gentamicin, while there was no
antibiotic activity observed against the fungi.