Chemical Composition and Biological Activity of Essential Oils from Different Species of Piper from Panama.

The chemical composition of leaf essential oils from 11 species of Piper from Panama was analyzed by a combination GC-FID and GC-MS procedures. Six of them had sesquiterpene hydrocarbons as major constituents, three were characterized by monoterpene hydrocarbons, one by a diterpene, and one by a phenylpropanoid, dillapiole. The main components identified in each species were: cembratrienol (25.4 %) in Piper augustum; β-pinene (26.6 %) in Piper corrugatum; α-pinene (19.4 %) in Piper curtispicum; trans-β-farnesene (63.7 %) in Piper darienense; p-cymene (43.9 %) in Piper grande; dillapiole (57.7 %) in Piper hispidum; linalool (14.5 %), α-phellandrene (13.8 %), and limonene (12.2 %) in Piper jacquemontianum; β-caryophyllene (45.2 %) in Piper longispicum; linalool (16.5 %), α-phellandrene (11.8 %), limonene (11.4 %), and p-cymene (9.0 %) in Piper multiplinervium; β-selinene (19.0 %), β-elemene (16.1 %), and α-selinene (15.5 %) in Piper reticulatum; and germacrene D (19.7 %) in Piper trigonum. The essential oils of P. hispidum and P. longispicum at a concentration of 250 µg/mL showed larvicidal activity against Aedes aegypti, while the oils from P. curtispicum, P. multiplinervium, P. reticulatum, and P. trigonum were inactive (LC100 ≥ 500 µg/mL). The essential oils of P. grande, P. jacquemontianum, and P. multiplinervium showed no significant antifungal activity (MIC > 250 µg/mL) against several yeasts and filamentous fungal strains.