Actividad antifúngica del aceite esencial de cinco especies de Juniperus de Argentina (Antifungal activities of the essential oil of five species of Juniperus from Argentina)

The chemical composition of the leaf oils of five Juniperus species (Juniperus sabina L., Juniperus communis Lam., Juniperus scopulorum Sarg., Juniperus virginiana L., Juniperus chinensis L., Cupressaceae) was determined by co-chromatography with authentic samples, GC-MS and Kovats retention indices. Sabinene was the most abundant component in the oils of Juniperus from western Patagonia Argentina. However, limonene and germacrene B constituted 25.1% and 11.5% of the oil of J. sabina. J. virginiana showed high concentration of alpha-humulene and limonene (31.4 and 15.9% respectively), while isobornyl acetate and germacrene B were also the main compounds of J. chinensis. Essential oils extracted of Juniperus were evaluated in vitro for their efficacy against Fusarium verticillioides, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus parasiticus, Candida albicans and Rhodotorula infection. Candida albicans was not inhibited for the essential oils of Juniperus. However, F. verticillioides, A. flavus, A. parasiticus and Rhodotorula were inhibited for these oils.