Chemical composition, antioxidant and antiprotozoal activity of Kiaersk. leaves essential oil.

This work evaluated the volatile composition, antioxidant and antiprotozoal activities of the essential oil obtained from leaves of Kiaersk. (EGEO) grown in Brazilian Northeast area (Araripe, Brazil). The volatile compounds of EGEO were analyzed by GC and GC-MS and its chemical composition is mainly composed of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (91.22%), oxygenated sesquiterpenes (7.45%) and monoterpene (1.01%). The most abundant volatile constituents of the EGEO were germacrene D (16.10%), γ-muurolene (15.60%), bicyclogermacrene (8.53%), germacrene B (7.43%), and Δ-elemene (6.06%). The oil showed weak to moderate antioxidant activity. EGEO was highly selective to and promastigotes with selective indexes of 73.66 and 71.41, respectively. EGEO did not inhibit . These data suggest that the essential oil is a relevant source of lead compounds for development of anti- drugs.