Extracción, caracterización física y química, y evaluación de la actividad biológica del aceite esencial de la especie conocida como chilchi (Tagetes terniflora) de la provincia de Loja.

Abstract

Tagetes terniflora is a ruderal herb, grows between 2000 and 3500 m, the essential oil was extracted from its aerial parts by the hydrodistillation method. The chemical composition of the essential oil was determined by gas chromatography coupled to CG/MS mass spectrometry and the CG/FID flame ionization detector. The broth microdilution method evaluated the biological activity. We identified 9 compounds that represent 93.56% of the oil. The major components were: Z-Ocimenene (49.80%), Dihydrotagetone (11.85%), E-Ocimenone (11.12%), E-Tagetone (6.68%) and β-Ocimene (5.13%). The density was 0.9398 g/cm3, the refractive index of 1.5142 and the optical activity of -0.3415°. The essential oil showed inactivity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains with an MIC of 2000 μg/mL, however, a moderate biological activity against fungi at the same concentration used for microorganisms was evidenced.