Essential Oil of Leaves of Croton campestris St. Hilaire, Its Secretory Elements, and Its Biological Activity.

The structure of the secretory tissues and the essential oil of the leaves of Croton campestris St Hil. were studied. The oil isolated by hydrodistillation was analyzed by CC and CC/MS and was found to contain 75 components accounting for 92.9% of the total oil, with the major components being caiyophyllene oxide (29.9%) and humulene oxide 11(8.0%). Growth inhibitory activity of the active compounds in solution was evaluated by measuring Minimal Inhibitory Concentration using a broth micro-method. The Minimal Inhibitory Concentration of the leaf oil was 1.56 μg/mL for Staphylococcus aureus, 6.25 μg/mL for Enterrococcus hirae and 6.25 μg/mL for Candida albicans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]