Antifungal activity and composition of the essential oil from leaves of female and male trees from Pimenta dioica L. Merrill

The fruits of allspice ( Pimenta dioica L. Merrill, Myrtaceae) possess mixed aromatic notes, for instance, nutmeg, clove, black pepper, and cinnamon. This species is dioecious, thus, only female trees are the only fruit-bearing specimens, while male trees function only for pollination. The sexual differentiation between them is notorious only after 5 years of growth, when the first flowering and fruiting occur [ 1 ]. Then, male trees are removed from the field, and their leaves are used as only as cooking condiment. Nonetheless, male leaves also possess essential oil vesicles, which provide them with potential as a source of essential oils [ 2 ]. Those essential oils might also have agronomic applications. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine and compare the essential oil composition and the antifungal activity against Fusarium oxysporum between essential oils obtained from of leaves of female and male trees. The volatile components were analysed by GC-MS. For antifungal tests, 250 mg/L was employed for all essential oils. The GC-MS profile indicated specific volatiles to males and females, for instance, isocumene exclusively found in males, which has been reported with fungistatic activity. This was confirmed by antifungal in vitro tests, where the fungal growth was mainly reduced but not totally stopped in most cases. Interestingly, male essential oils were more active than female essential oils. Thus, non-used male tress represents a valuable source of bioactive essential oils with potential antifungal application. Publication History Article published online: 05 March 2026 © 2026. Thieme. All rights reserved. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Oswald-Hesse-Straße 50, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany