Vitex ferruginea Schumach. Et. Thonn. subsp. amboniensis (Gürke) Verdc.: glandular trichomes micromorphology, composition and antifungal activity of the essential oils

Abstract The morphology and distribution of the glandular trichomes of Vitex ferruginea Schumach. et Thonn. subsp. amboniensis (Gürke) Verdc. from Mozambique were investigated as well as the chemical composition and the antifungal activity of its essential oil. Scanning electron microscopy of vegetative and reproductive organs revealed non-glandular and two types of glandular trichomes. Glandular trichome Type I has a multicellular head of eight cells and Type II a multicellular head of four cells. The oils obtained by hydrodistillation were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The oils were rich in sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, being germacrene D the major compound (26.8–34.9%). Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal lethal concentration (MLC) were used to evaluate the antifungal activity against yeasts (C. albicans, C. tropicalis, C. parapsilosis, C. guillermondii, C. krusei, Crytococcus neoformans), Aspergillus (A. niger, A. fumigatus, A. flavus) and dermatophyte strains (Microsporum canis, M. gypseum, Trichophyton rubrum, T. mentagrophytes, Epidermophyton floccosum). The oils exhibited significant antifungal activity against dermatophyte strains with MIC between 0.16–0.64μL/mL.

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