Influence of diurnal variation in the chemical composition and bioactivities of the essential oil from fresh and dried leaves of<i>Lantana camara</i>

Abstract

Lantana camara species is generally seen only as a detriment to plantations but it also possess medicinal potential. This work aimed to analyse the essential oil (EO) yield and chemical composition of fresh and dry leaves versus seasonal variation of L. camara, as well as its inhibition of fungi, bacteria and towards the enzyme acetylcholinesterase. Variations in EO yield and its chemical composition in front of the aforementioned variations were found to be notorious. EO obtained from fresh and dry leaves throughout the day (6am, 12pm and 6pm) presented inhibition of Candida albicans higher than the standards. However, what is clear is that the EO from dry leaves of L. camara were the best inhibitors of fungi, bacteria and also of AChE, this latter standing out by a potent inhibition reaching 96.10%, superior to the standard used (90.31%).