Three essential oils extracted from leaves, fruits and roots of Ottonia martiana Miq. (Piperaceae), common species in Brazilian Rain Forest, known as "anestésia", were analyzed by GC-MS and tested in an antibacterial assay against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923), Staphylococcus epidermidis (ATCC 12228), Pseudomonas aerogenes (ATCC 27853) and Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922). Seventy-seven compounds were identified and submitted to a comparative analysis, which revealed variability on the amount of principal components of these oils (spathulenol, caryophyllene oxide, (E)-nerolidol, viridiflorol, beta-caryophyllene,deltacadinene and alloaromadendrene). Inhibition zones of bacterial growth in the bioautograms (Rfs 0.29 and 0.34) showed antimicrobial activity of essential oils against tested Gram-positive bacteria and permitted to identify some bioactive components.
antimicrobial activity; essential oil composition; Gram-positive bacteria; Ottonia martiana
