A composição química dos óleos essenciais obtidos de folhas, cascas e troncos de Ocotea gomezii e O. morae de populações silvestres da Costa Rica, está sendo descrita pela primeira vez. Os óleos de O. gomezii são constituídos principalmente por sesquiterpenóides enquanto os de O. morae apresentaram mono-e sesquiterpenóides na mesma proporção. A análise da composição química por CG/EM e CG/DIC resultou na identificação de 166 componentes, correspondente a 89,4-98,1% dos óleos totais. Quando comparada a atividade de todos os óleos obtidos sobre linhagens de células CCF-STTG1, Hep3B, HepG2, H-460, AGS, N-87, SW-620, MCF-7 e VERO, observou-se que as células de astrocitoma foram as mais resistentes aos mesmos. Concluiu-se que os óleos essenciais de folhas, cascas e tronco de Ocotea gomezii e Ocotea morae podem conter alguns compostos tóxicos, mas o uso potencial dos mesmos contra as células tumorais foi muito baixo, pois são tóxicos na mesma extensão, para as linhagens de células tumorais e não-tumorais. The chemical composition of the essential oils of the leaves, bark and wood of Ocotea gomezii and O. morae from Costa Rica, were analyzed by capillary GC-FID and GC-MS. The oils of O. gomezii were predominantly composed by sesquiterpenoids whereas the oils of O. morae had both monoterpenoids and sesquiterpenoids. Analysis by GC/MS and GC/FID resulted in the identification of 166 compounds, representing about 89.4−98.1% of the total oils. When we compared the effect of the oils on cell lines (CCF-STTG1, Hep3B, HepG2, H-460, AGS, N-87, SW-620 and MCF-7 and VERO), we found that astrocytoma cells were the most resistant ones. We conclude that the essential oils of Ocotea gomezii and Ocotea morae could have some toxic compounds, but the potential use of them against the tumor cells would be very low, since they could be toxic to tumor and non-tumor cells in the same extent.

Pimenta is a genus of flowering plants in the Myrtaceae family, which has about 15 species, mostly found in the Caribbean region of the Americas. Commonly used for culinary and medicinal purposes, the best known commercial species are allspice, P. dioica (P. officinalis) and bay rum, P. racemosa, but there is little information concerning P. guatemalensis. The aim of the present study was to identify the chemical composition of the leaf and fruit essential oils of P. guatemalensis. The extraction of essential oils of P. guatemalensis growing wild in Costa Rica was carried out by the hydrodistillation method at atmospheric pressure, using a modified Clevenger type apparatus. The chemical composition of the oils was analyzed by capillary gas chromatographyflame ionization detector (GC/FID) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) using the retention indices on DB-5 type capillary column. A total of 103 and 63 compounds were identified in the leaf and fruit oils, respectively, corresponding to 96.8% and 86.1% of the total amount of the oils. The leaf oil consisted mainly of eugenol (72.8%), and mono-and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (18.2%). Among terpenes the major components were b-caryophyllene (8.2%) and terpinolene (3.0%). The fruit oil also consisted mainly of eugenol (74.7%) and minor amounts of oxygenated mono-and sesquiterpenes (7.3%), mainly caryophyllene oxide (3.3%). This is the first report of the chemical composition of the essential oils obtained from this plant species. Rev. Biol. Trop. 63 (1): 303-311. Epub 2015 March 01.Key words: Pimenta guatemalensis, Myrtaceae, essential oil composition, eugenol, b-caryophyllene, caryophyllene oxide, terpinolene, Costa Rica.Myrtaceae is a family constituted of about 142 genera and includes more than 5 500 species of mostly trees and shrubs with conspicuous oil glands, distributed predominantly in the Southern hemisphere, mainly in Australia and South America (Wilson, 2011).Worldwide, the family has a considerable economic value because species from several genera are used as a source of timber (for example, Eucalyptus globulus Labill., Tas (Barrie, 2007). In Costa Rica, it is commonly known as Jamaica (León, & Poveda, 2000). This plant is distributed along Central America, from Guatemala to Panama. The young branchlets are 4-angled. The leaves are evergreen, simple, opposite and oblanceolate to elliptical, the blade cuneate at the base and acuminate at the apex. When the leaves are crushed they give off a scent with an aromatic flavor resembling a mixture of clove and cinnamon due to an oil of unknown composition. The fragrant flowers are small and the receptacle has five calyx lobes, arranged in panicles (ca. 20 flowers) in the leaf axils. The ovaries are uni-locular or without loculi. This plant grows wild in Costa Rica and it can be found distributed between 250 and 900m above sea level mostly in the rain forests of the North region and Caribbean slopes. To the best of our knowledge, no previous reports on the chemistry of P. guatemalensis hav...

Recebido em 1/8/08; aceito em 8/9/08; publicado na web em 5/2/09The chemical composition of the volatiles of Nectandra salicina growing wild in Costa Rica was determined by capillary GC/FID and GC/MS. Thirty-seven and forty-two compounds were identified in the leaf and branch oils respectively corresponding to about 92.6 and 86.2% of the total amount of the oils. The major components of the leaf oil were: atractylone (14.6%), viridiflorene (10.1%), α-pinene (9.4%), β-caryophyllene (7.2%), α-humulene (7.0%), δ-cadinene (6.1%), β-pinene (6.0%) and germacrene D (5.8%). The major components of the branch oil were: atractylone (21.1%), germacrene D (10.7%), viridiflorene (7.9%) and 7-epi-α-selinene (5.0%). When the oils were tested on different cell lines, all the LD 50 values were higher than 150 µg/mL, with values very similar for the leaf and branch oils. Low toxicity could be explained by antagonistic effects among the main compounds present in the oils.

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The chemical composition of the essential oils from leaves and wood of Ocotea brenesii Standl. growing wild in Costa Rica was determined by capillary GC/FID and GC/MS. From the leaves, 64 compounds were identified, corresponding to 85.9% of the oil, and from the wood 57 compounds were identified corresponding to 69.0% of the oil. The major constituents identified in the leaf oil were α-copaene (21.1%), δ-cadinene (9.2%), spathulenol (7.3%), globulol (5.6%) and β-caryophyllene (5.2%). The major constituents of the wood oil were α-copaene (6.6%), caryophyllene oxide (6.3%), β-caryophyllene (6.1%) and humulene epoxide (4.6%). Rev.