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. 2021 Oct 19;26(20):6303.
doi: 10.3390/molecules26206303.

Chemical Composition of Cinnamomum verum Leaf and Flower Essential Oils and Analysis of Their Antibacterial, Insecticidal, and Larvicidal Properties

Arunaksharan Narayanankutty  1 , Krishnaprasad Kunnath  2 , Ahmed Alfarhan  3 , Rajakrishnan Rajagopal  3 , Varsha Ramesh  4
Affiliations

Chemical Composition of Cinnamomum verum Leaf and Flower Essential Oils and Analysis of Their Antibacterial, Insecticidal, and Larvicidal Properties

Arunaksharan Narayanankutty et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Cinnamomum verum is widely used in traditional medicines, and the different parts of the plant, such as bark, leaves, and flowers, are used for essential oil production. The present study compared the chemical composition of the essential oil of C. verum extracted from the leaves and flowers. In addition, efficacy of these essential oils against the two common pests Sitophilus oryzae and Callosobruchus maculatus was also evaluated. The results indicated the presence of cinnamaldehyde, eugenol, caryophyllene, and linalool in these essential oils, however, at different concentrations. The leaf essential oil was found to be 10-20% more effective as a fumigant against both the pests. Likewise, the leaf essential oil found to repel these pests even at lower concentrations than that of flower essential oil of C. verum. Besides, these essential oils were also effective in controlling the growth of various gram positive and gram negative microbial pathogens and possibly a safeguard for human health. On contrary, both the essential oils were found to be safe for the application on grains, as indicated by their germination potentials. It was also observed that these essential oils do not cause any significant toxicity to guppy fishes, thus confirming their ecological safety for use as a biopesticide.

Keywords: Cinnamomum verum; antibacterial activity; flower essential oil; fumigant activity; larvicidal activity; leaf essential oil; repellent effect.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Insect repellent and insecticidal properties of the Cinnamomum verum flower (FEO) (a) and leaf (LEO) (b) essential oils against the pests of stored grains Sitophilus oryzae (So) and Callosobruchus maculatus (Cm). The values shown on the Y-axis is the IC50 or half-maximal inhibition concentrations for respective biological activities compared to the untreated control group.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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