article · Journal of Pharmacy and Nutrition Sciences
Solanecio mannii is a fast-growing woody shrub belonging to the Asteraceae family that can reach up to ten metres in height. Steam distillation of its leaves yields both an essential oil and a hydrosol, which possess distinct chemical profiles. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis identified fifty-two compounds in the essential oil, dominated by monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes. The hydrosol contained twenty-eight compounds, primarily heteroatomic compounds and fatty acid methyl esters. Laboratory evaluations using the disc diffusion method showed that both the essential oil and the hydrosol display antibacterial properties against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The essential oil produced zones of inhibition measuring twelve millimetres against Escherichia coli and ten millimetres against Staphylococcus aureus. The hydrosol generated zones of ten millimetres and eight millimetres, respectively. These extracts show potential for use as clean label agents.
Bacterial contamination by pathogens such as Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus presents persistent challenges for food safety and shelf life. Identifying natural antimicrobial compounds from fast-growing shrubs provides potential alternatives to synthetic preservatives. Demonstrating that leaf extracts from this plant suppress common bacterial pathogens supports broader efforts to develop plant-based, clean label solutions for food preservation.
The findings point to applications in the food industry, specifically as clean label antimicrobial agents in active food packaging systems. Developers of packaging materials and food processors seeking natural preservatives represent the primary target users. Because the research is currently at an early laboratory stage based on disc diffusion tests, further formulation, material compatibility studies, and real-world validation will be required before commercial adoption.
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Solanecio mannii is a fast-growing woody shrub of up to 10 m in height of the Asteraceae family. This study aimed to identify the chemical constituents of steam-distilled oil and hydrosol of Solanecio mannii leaves and determine their activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. Steam distillation extraction followed by GC/MS analysis was employed to characterize the chemical composition, while the antimicrobial effectiveness was assed using disc diffusion method at 10 µL sample volumes. GC/MS analysis revealed 52 compounds in the essential oil predominantly monoterpenes (48%) and sesquiterpenes (38.5%), and 28 compounds in the hydrosol, consisting mainly of fatty acid methyl esters (28.57%) and other heteroatomic compounds (67.86%). The essential oils demonstrated significant activity against both E. coli (12 mm) and S. aureus (10 mm) for the oil and 10 mm and 8 mm for the hydrosol respectively. The findings emphasize the potential of S. mannii essential oil and hydrosol as clean label agents for food industry applications, particularly in active packaging systems.
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DOI: 10.29169/1927-5951.2025.15.05
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