Chemical Composition and Antimycobacterial Activity of the Essential Oil from Anemia tomentosa var. anthriscifolia

The essential oil from Anemia tomentosa var. anthriscifolia showed in vitro activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MIC 100 μg/ml) and therefore was characterized by gas chromatography (GC) and by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The major constituents of this essential oil were triquinane sesquiterpenes: silphiperfol-6-ene (14.7%), (–)-epi-presilphiperfolan-1-ol (30.6%), presilphiperfol-7-ene (3.9%), cameroonan-7α-ol (4.4%), prenopsan-8-ol (1.9%) and presilphiperfolan-8-ol (8.3%), suggesting the existence of different chemotypes for this species. The essential oil was fractionated by column chromatography and its major constituent and fractions were assayed against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. smegmatis. (–)-epi-Presilphiperfolan-1-ol exhibited an MIC of 120 μg/ml against M. tuberculosis H37Rv.