Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of the Commercially Available Oil of Luma chequen (Molina) A. Gray.

The composition and the antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Luma chequen from Peru were investigated. Essential oil was analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The oil was characterized by the presence of small amounts of sesquiterpenes (3.1%), and large amounts of monoterpenes (90.1%), of which α-pinene (57.1%), 1,8-cineole (12.1%) and linalool (5.5%) were the major compounds. The oil showed significant antimicrobial activity against Proteus vulgaris, Cryptococcus neoformans and Cladosporium cladosporioides, with MIC values ranging from 0.45 to 1.67 µL/mL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]