The leaf essential oils from five species of Zanthoxylum (Rutaceae) from Monteverde, Costa Rica, have been obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The species examined include Z. fagara, Z. acuminatum, Z. melanostictum, Z. monophyllum, and an undescribed species. The most abundant classes of compounds found in Zanthoxylum leaf oils are acyclic and menthane monoterpenoids as well as simple alcohols, aldehydes, and ketones. In terms of molecular diversity, menthane and acyclic monoterpenoids, cadinane and mesocyclic sesquiterpenoids, and simple alcohols, aldehydes, and ketones dominate the essential oils of Zanthoxylum species. Monoterpenoids make up the majority of the mass of the leaf oils of Z. monophyllum, Z. acuminatum, Z. fagara, and Zanthoxylum sp. nov. Linalool, 4-terpineol, alpha-terpineol, and trans-2-hexenol, are found in all of the Zanthoxylum species examined in this study.
The essential oils from the floral spikes of Piper auritum Kunth, the aerial parts of Piper marginatum Jacq., and the leaves of Piper umbellatum L., from Monteverde, Costa Rica, have been obtained by hydrodistillation in 0.55%, 0.24%, and 0.18%, respectively. The volatile oils have been analyzed by GC-MS. The floral essential oil of Piper auritum is composed largely of safrole (93%), comparable to that found in the leaf oil. The essential oil of Piper marginatum is composed largely of the anisyl derivatives trans-anethole (46%), p-anisaldehyde (22%), and anisyl ketone (14%), and differs markedly from P. marginatum essential oil from Brazil. Piper umbellatum essential oil is rich in sesquiterpenoids, largely β-caryophyllene (28%), germacrene D (17%), and (E,E)-αfarnesene (15%), very different from P. umbellatum volatile oil from S. Tomé e Príncipe, which was dominated by the monoterpenoids αand β-pinene.
The leaf essential oils of Zanthoxylum rhoifolium and Zanthoxylum setulosum (Rutaceae) from Monteverde, Costa Rica have been obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The principal constituents of Z. rhoifolium leaf oil were germacrene D (14.6%), limonene (12.5%), trans-2-hexenal (11.3%), beta-elemene (9.2%), 2-undecanone (9.2%), myrcene (7.9%), bicyclogermacrene (7.5%), and germacrene A (5.2%). The leaf oil of Z. setulosum was composed largely of beta-phellandrene (37.5%), beta-caryophyllene (13.7%), alpha-pinene (11.9%), germacrene D (10.9%), myrcene (5.9%), and nerolidol (5.4%). The essential oils were screened for in-vitro cytotoxic activity against Hep G2, MCF-7, and PC-3 human tumor cell lines; antibacterial activity against Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli; and for Artemia salina (brine shrimp) lethality. Neither Z. rhoifolium nor Z. setulosum leaf oils exhibited cytotoxicity or antibacterial activity. Both oils showed activity against A. salina.
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