Chemical composition and biological activities of Ishpingo essential oil, a traditional Ecuadorian spice from Ocotea quixos (Lam.) Kosterm. (Lauraceae) flower calices Renato Bruni a , Alessandro Medici b , Elisa Andreotti b , Carlo Fantin c , Mariavittoria Muzzoli b , Marco Dehesa d , Carlo Romagnoli e , Gianni Sacchetti b, * a DipartimentodiBiologiaEvolutivaeFunzionale,Sez.BiologiaVegetaleeortoBotanico,Universita `degliStudidiParma,ParcoAreadelleScienze11A, 43100 Parma, Italy b Dipartimento delle Risorse Naturali e Culturali, Universita ` degli Studi di Ferrara, C.so Porta Mare 2, 44100 Ferrara, Italy c Department of Chemistry, University of Ferrara, Via Luigi Borsari 46, I-44100 Ferrara, Italy d Universidad Politecnica Salesiana, Av. 12 de Octubre 1436 Y Wilson, Quito, Ecuador e Dipartimento del Museo di Paleobiologia e dell’Orto Botanico, Universita ` degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, viale dei Caduti in Guerra 127, 41100 Modena, Italy Received 4 April 2003; received in revised form 15 July 2003; accepted 15 July 2003 Abstract The essential oil of Ishpingo (Ocotea quixos, Lauraceae) fruit calices was analysed by GC (gas chromatography) and GC–MS (gas chromatography–mass spectrometry). Fourty-four compounds were identified. The main components detected were trans- cinnamaldehyde (27.9%), methylcinnamate (21.6%), 1,8-cineole (8.0%), benzaldehyde (3.6%), and b-selinene (2.1%). In vitro antioxidant properties of the essential oil, obtained by DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) and b-carotene bleaching assays, were also evaluated. The oil exerted a relatively good capacity to act as a non-specific donor of hydrogen atoms or electrons when checked by the diphenylpicrylhydrazyl assay, quenching 52% of the radical. On the other hand, it showed weak effects in inhibiting oxidation of linoleic acid when assayed by the b-carotene bleaching test. Antibacterial activity of the essential oil was also checked against gram positive (Enterococcus foecalis, Staphylococcus aureus) and gram negative strains (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa). The oil also showed a dose-dependent antifungal activity against Candida albicans, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, phytopathogen Pythium ultimum and dermatophyte Trichophyton mentagrophytes. # 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Ocotea quixos; Lauraceae; Essential oil; Antioxidant activity; Antibacterial activity; Antifungal activity; Cinnamaldehyde; Methyl cinnamate 1. Introduction The expanding spice market is presently helping to focus attention on the various traditional spices from different areas of the World and great emphasis has recently been focused on the utilization of those spices and their essential oils as natural agents for food pre- servation (Baratta et al., 1998; Deans, 1991; Farag, Ali, & Taha, 1990; Farrell, 1990; Janssen, Scheffer, & Baer- heim Svendsen, 1987). Due to consumer concerns regarding safety and adverse effects of synthetic food additives, spices are now not only evaluated for their seasoning and flavouring properties, but also for their functional characteristics as bacteriostatics, fungicides, antioxidants and nutrients (Hirasa & Takemasa, 1998). Ocotea quixos (Lam.) Kosterm. (Lauraceae) is a medium sized tree native to Amazonian Ecuador and neighbouring countries (Jørgensen & Leo´n-Ya´nez, 1999), which is reputed to have known aromatic properties since the period of the Incas (Naranjo, 1969), but is not well known outside Ecuador. The tree produces biennial big and woody flower calices, locally called Ishpingo. Abscissic calices are harvested when felled from wild trees and are traditionally used, either fresh or dried, whole or crushed, by Amazonian indigenous people as a spice (Friedman et al., 1993). 0308-8146/$ - see front matter # 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2003.07.019 Food Chemistry 85 (2004) 415–421 www.elsevier.com/locate/foodchem * Corresponding author. Fax: +39-0532-208561. E-mail address: scg@unife.it (G. Sacchetti).