## 3 Results
### EOs Rich in Alpha-Phellandrene and Their Main Biological Activities
#### 3.4.1 Antimicrobial Activity  
As a preliminary result suitable for further investigations, EOs rich in alpha-phellandrene have been shown to have potential properties as antimicrobial agents and food preservatives, and there are several species within the ethnopharmacological knowledge that possess this molecule as one of their principal components. For instance, [PERSON] et al. [71] focused on the antimicrobial activity of _Schinus molle_ EO where alpha-phellandrene, together with limonene, were the main components with high activity against _Bacillus cereus_, a typical bacterium which produce toxins in gastrointestinal illnesses. [PERSON] et al. [53] found that the EO extracted from fennel, which had alpha-phellandrene as a main component, in a concentration of 40 ppm, but ineffective at 10 ppm, completely inhibited mycelial growth of _Alternaria alternata_, a well-known fungus causing leaf spot and other diseases in many different species of plants. It also had different degrees of fungistatic activity depending on the doses. Another species where alpha-phellandrene is the main compound is _Cymbopogon javanicus_ and [PERSON] and his study group [72] found high antifungal activity in its EO, specifically against two rice pathogens, _Rhizoctonia solani_ and _Bipolaris oryzae_, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) lower than 100 \(\mu\)L/mL. Another common problem in the control of agricultural crop diseases is the production of aflat from fungi, mainly from _Apergillus flavus_ species. [PERSON] et al. [31] proved the potential of the EO from turmeric leaves (containing24.4% of alpha-phellandrene) as a bio-preservative for storage of species, such as maize, peanuts ant tree nuts, among others, showing 95.3% and 100% inhibition of aflat at 1.0 and 1.5%, respectively. Another fungal growth inhibition activity of this molecule was tested by [PERSON] et al. [73] using the EO extracted from the fruits of _A. gravelens_ against _Penicillium verrucosum_. The results obtained showed a concentration lower than 0.02 \(\mu\)L/mL inhibited 50% of fungal growth. [PERSON] et al. [74] studied the activity of leaf EO from _S. mole_, with a concentration of alpha-phellandrene of 25.9%, against Gram+ and Gram- pathogenic bacteria and food spoilage fungi. The best results were obtained against _Staphylococcus epidermidis_ with an 11.3 mm inhibition zone, compared to 17.0 mm in the positive control, Amoxicillin. Regarding its use as a food preservative, the EO displayed strong activities against _Apergillus niger_ and _Rhizopus stolonifera_, for instance. An extended study by [PERSON] et al. [51] focused on three different EOs (with alpha-phellandrene within the main components) from the _Schinus_ genus in the control of severe phytopathogens and human pathogens. The results showed the best potential use against the fungal mycelial growth of _Colletotrichum acutatum_ in a concentration from 250 to 1000 ppm, and were effective against most of the bacteria tested, showing better results on Gram+ than Gram- bacteria. Another study with optimal results concerning the antimicrobial activities of an EO containing alpha-phellandrene was the one from [PERSON] et al. [75], which found optimal activities against the Gram+ bacteria _Enterococcus facaium_ and _Streptococcus agalaciae_. Another study, [76], evaluated the antimicrobial activity of another species from the same genus, _S. terbeinthofilous_, where the EO composition of the rip fruit presented a 12.6% concentration of alpha-phellandrene. [PERSON] et al. focused on wild strains of hospital origin bacteria, finding strong activity of the oil against _Corynebacterium_ sp. and _Pseudomonas_ sp., with an MIC of 3.55 \(\upmu\)g/mL and 7.11 \(\upmu\)g/mL, respectively. [PERSON] et al. [77] also focused their study on this species where their oil, extracted from rip fruits, presented 32.8% of alpha-phellandrene and showed am MIC of 16.0 \(\upmu\)g/mL and 32.0 \(\upmu\)g/mL against _S. aureus_ and _P. aeruginosa_, respectively. Likewise, [PERSON] et al.