Chemical Composition, Cytotoxic and Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oils from Cassia bakeriana Craib. against Aerobic and Anaerobic Oral Pathogens

The chemical composition of the essential oils from leaves, bark and wood of Cassia bakeriana Craib. was determined by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Alcohols, aldehydes and fatty acids were the major components in leaf and bark oil, while wood essential oil was rich in fatty acids. Terpenes such as linalool, (E)-nerolidol and phytol were present in low concentrations. The antimicrobial activity against aerobic and anaerobic oral bacteria was evaluated using the microdilution method, as was the cell viability test carried out with Vero cells. The oils from leaves and bark showed high antimicrobial activity, with minimum inhibitory concentrations between 62.5 and 125 mu g.mL(-1) for most of the tested bacteria, including Streptococcus mutans, the main etiological agent of dental caries. Leaves oil displayed the lowest cytotoxic effect (EC50 of 153 mu g.mL(-1)), while wood oil exhibited the highest toxicity to Vero cells. C. bakeriana oils are thus a source of biologically active compounds against aerobic and anaerobic oral microorganisms. This study is the first report on the chemical composition, antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity of C. bakeriana.