Abstract
We have evaluated the antibacterial activity of the essential oil of the leaves of Coreopsis lanceolata (CL-EO) collected in southeastern Brazil. against a representative panel of cariogenic bacteria. The activity was evaluated in terms of its Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) values. CL-EO displays moderate activity against Streptococcus mutans, S. sanguinis, S. salivarus, S. sobrinus, Lactobacillus paracasei, and Enterococcus faecalis (MIC = 1000 µg/mL) and strong activity against S. mitis (MIC = 500 µg/mL). We have identified 1,11-tridecadiene-3,5,7,9-tetrayne (48.9%), β-bisabolene (22.8%), germacrene D (9.2%), and globulol (4.6%) as the major compounds in CL-EO. This is the first report on the chemical composition of the essential oil obtained from C. lanceolata leaves.