Antimicrobial activity of copaiba oil: A review and a call for further research

Copaiba oil has been used for more than 390 years, however, considering the time of empirical use, there are a scarce number of publications on its activities. This essential oil is a phytomedicine proven to be efficient against some microorganisms. However, different from other phytomedicines which are well established, antimicrobial studies on copaiba oil can present some bias due to the lack of standardization. This review; summarizes recent works, from 2009 to 2016, into the antibacterial and antifungal activities of copaiba oil; discusses issues affecting studies on this oil; and calls for more in vitro and clinical studies.