Chemical Composition, Enantiomeric Distribution and Biological Activity of Essential Oil from Morella pubescens (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) Wilbur

The species Morella pubescens, commonly known as wax laurel, is a tree belonging to the Myricaceae family that can be found from Costa Rica to Bolivia. In this study, the chemical composition, enantiomeric distribution, and biological activity of essential oil isolated from the leaves of this species was determined. Hydrodistillation was used to isolate the essential oil (EO). Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry was used to determine the qualitative composition, gas chromatography equipped with a flame ionization detector was used to determine quantitative composition, and gas chromatography on an enantioselective column was used to determine enantiomeric distribution. The broth microdilution method was employed to assess the antibacterial capacity of the essential oil against seven opportunistic microorganisms, including three Gram-positive cocci bacteria, a Gram-positive bacilli bacterium and three Gram-negative bacilli bacteria. 2,2′-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid radical cation and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydryl free radical were used as reagents to determine the antioxidant activity of essential oil. The spectrophotometric method was used to analyze the acetylcholinesterase inhibitory effect of the essential oil. The extraction method afforded a low yield of around 0.076 ± 0.008% (v/w). Fifty-eight chemical compounds, which represent 97.9% of the total composition, were identified in the essential oil. Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons were the most representative group with 24 compounds (67.8%). The principal constituents were (E)-caryophyllene (27.5 ± 1.3%), limonene (11.8 ± 0.6%), δ-selinene (9.1 ± 0.2%), β-selinene (8.0 ± 0.2%), selina-3,7(11)-diene (5.3 ± 0.2%) and germacrene B (5.0 ± 0.5%). Three pairs of enantiomers were identified in the essential oil of Morella pubescens. Essential oil presented strong activity against the bacterium Enterococcus faecium (ATCC 27270) with an MIC of 250 μg/mL. The antioxidant activity of essential oil was very strong in the ABTS method with an SC(50) of 46.4 ± 1.0 µg/mL and was strong in the DPPH method with an SC(50) of 237.1 ± 1.8 µg/mL. Additionally, the essential oil reported strong anticholinesterase activity with an IC(50) of 133.5 ± 1.06 µg/mL.