Tagetes spp. Essential Oils and Other Extracts: Chemical Characterization and Biological Activity

Abstract

Tagetes (marigold) is native to America, and its cultivation currently extends to other countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Many species of this genus, such as T. minuta, T. erecta, T. patula, and T. tenuifolia, are cultivated as ornamental plants and studied for their medicinal properties on the basis of their use in folk medicine. Different parts of the Tagetes species are used as remedies to treat various health problems, including dental, stomach, intestinal, emotional, and nervous disorders, as well as muscular pain, across the world. Furthermore, these plants are studied in the field of agriculture for their fungicidal, bactericidal, and insecticidal activities. The phytochemical composition of the extracts of different Tagetes species parts are reported in this work. These compounds exhibit antioxidant, antiinflammatory, and enzyme inhibitory properties. Cultivation and the factors affecting the chemical composition of Tagetes species are also covered. In the current work, available literature on Tagetes species in traditional medicine, their application as a food preservative, and their antimicrobial activities are reviewed.

Keywords: Asteraceae; Tagetes erecta; Tagetes lucida; Tagetes minuta; Tagetes patula; antimicrobial; ethnopharmacology.

Figure 1

Main chemical structures found in the Tagetes essential oils (EOs): (1) limonene, (2) α-pinene, (3) β-pinene, (4) terpinolene, (5) (E)-β-ocimene, (6) dihydrotagetone, (7) tagetone (represented as a mixture of (E)- and (Z)-isomers), (8) tagetenone (represented as a mixture of (E)- and (Z)-isomers), (9) β-caryophyllene, and (10) eugenol.