Chemical Composition and Antibacterial Activity of the Kunth Essential Oil from the Carajás National Forest, Brazil.

Species of the genus are rich in essential oils and have shown antibacterial properties, which may be related to oils' chemical composition. The present work aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial potential of Kunth against two bacteria strains: and . Leaf essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation in a modified Clevenger-type apparatus, and their chemical composition was determined by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and flame ionization detection (GC/FID). We identified 28 compounds, representing 98.87% of the total concentration of the essential oil. The compounds identified at the highest concentrations were 1,8-cineole (35.04%), carvacrol (11.32%), p-cymene (8.53%), -pinene (7.17%), and -terpinene (7.16%). The leaf essential oil of showed antibacterial action on biological isolates of and . For , the oil presented bactericidal action at concentrations of 5-20 L/mL. Regarding , the bactericidal effect was noted at 20 L/mL and the bacteriostatic action was noted around 2.5-10 L/mL. Given the results obtained, essential oil showed promising biological potential against Gram-positive () and Gram-negative () bacteria, thus encouraging further studies on substances isolated from this species to contribute to the development of new antimicrobial drugs.