Bioherbicide and anesthetic potential of Aniba canelilla essential oil, a contribution to the demands of the agricultural sector

In order to meet the agricultural sector growing demand for sustainable alternatives, this work was developed to explore the bioherbicide and anesthetic potential of Aniba Canelilla essential oil, a natural Amazon resource. Leaves and fine branches, collected in two seasons of the year, were subjected to hydrodistillation and the essential oils obtained were analyzed via GC-MS and GC-FID for chemical characterization of their components. At different concentrations (0.005; 0.01; 0.05; 0.1; 0.5; 1.0 and 1.5%), the essential oil was tested in order to inhibit capim annoni seedlings germination and development. To perform the anesthesia test, the guppy fish (Poecilia reticulata), used as a sample, was treated with an essential oil solution at a 0.0001 v/v concentration. The A. canelilla leaves oil promoted a 90% inhibition of capim annoni germination in the treatment with 0.05% of the oil, reaching 100% inhibition in treatments above 0.1%. It also showed potential as fish anesthetic, inducing the animals to profound anesthesia with subsequent short recovery, causing no mortality. The promising effects observed in this work may be due to the essential oil major component characterized as 1-nitro-2-phenylethane, expanding the knowledge already recorded in the literature for A. canelilla and highlighting the oil's potential as a natural matrix candidate for obtaining a bioproduct. [Display omitted] •Aniba canelilla essential oil as biological inputs for agricultural sector.•Deep anesthesia indicates the potential use of A. canelilla oil in fish farming.•A. canelilla oil showed potential for application as a bioherbicide.