Distillation of Myrcianthes fragrans: An undergraduate research project

Myrcianthes fragrans (Simpson’s stopper, Twinberry), a small tree or large shrub, grows in many tropical areas in the Caribbean and along the southern coast of Florida. This species is indigenous but rare on the island of St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands.  As part of an undergraduate research project we collected M. fragrans leaves on 21 November 2016. Then using a wet distillation process, we extracted hydrosol and essential oil from these leaves on 22 November.  The Essential Oil University, New Albany, Indiana, will analyze these natural products. After analysis we will 1) identify the concentration and composition of essential oil in our samples and 2) compare our results with previous work to extract natural products from M. fragrans growing in Costa Rica and Cuba.

Our work demonstrates the contribution of undergraduates in the search for antimicrobial properties as effective treatment for microbial diseases that are a global health threat.