Schinus Essential Oils: Chemical Composition by GCxGC-TOFMS and Phytotoxic Effects on Arabidopsis thaliana

Schinus essential oils were tentatively identified by GCxGC/TOFMS, which revealed a greater number of compounds than previously reported. Eighty-six, seventy-two, and eighty-eight components were identified in Schinus lentiscifolius, Schinus molle and Schinus terebinthifolius essential oils, respectively. Compound separation due to D-2 selectivity was observed. Phytotoxic effects of Schinus essential oils were assessed on germination and initial growth of Arabidopsis thaliana. All essential oils in all tested quantities (5 mu L, 10 mu L, 15 mu L, 20 mu L, and 25 mu L) affected germination rate, speed of accumulated germination, and root and shoot length of A. thaliana. Considering the mode of action of the essential oils, no differences were observed on expression of the genes ANP1 and CDK B1;1 in A. thaliana, which was analyzed by RT-qPCR. Results suggest that phytotoxic effects of Schinus essential oils seem to be explained by cellular damage rather than by induction of stress-inducible genes.