The study evaluated the chemical profile, antimicrobial activity and
toxicity of essential oils (EOs) of C. citratus, O. basilicum and A.
rosaeodora. The EOs were extracted by hydrodistillation, the chemical
profile was determined using the physicochemical parameters and the
chemical composition was obtained by gas chromatography coupled to mass
spectrometry (GC-MS). The major chemical composition of the EO of A.
rosaeodora presented linalool (93.60%), the EO of C. citratus exhibited
geranial (43.96%) and EO of O. basilicum found methyl chavicol. All EOs
in this study had LC50 between 582 mg L-1 and 282 mg L-1. The
antimicrobial activity of EO C. citratus demonstrated inhibition halos
for S. aureus of 25 mm and 25 mm for E. coli, EO of O. basilicum
exhibited inhibition halo of 18 mm for E.coli and 20 mm for S. aureus
and EO of A. rosaeodora presented 11 mm for E. coli and 15 for S.
aureus. As the values of MIC and MBC found, the EO of O. basilicum
presented a more effective inhibitory action against S. aureus. It was
concluded that the observed biological potentials encourage the
application potentials in the efficiency of the control of pathogenic
microorganisms.