The oleoresin of Copaifera trees has been widely used as a traditional medicine in Neotropical regions for thousands of years and remains a popular treatment for a variety of ailments. The copaiba resins are generally composed of a volatile oil made up largely of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, such as β-caryophyllene, α-copaene, β-elemene, α-humulene, and germacrene D. In addition, the oleoresin is also made up of several biologically active diterpene acids, including copalic acid, kaurenoic acid, alepterolic acid, and polyalthic acid. This review presents a summary of the ecology and distribution of Copaifera species, the traditional uses, the biological activities, and the phytochemistry of copaiba oleoresins. In addition, several biomolecular targets relevant to the bioactivities have been implicated by molecular docking methods.

Ocotea species present economic importance and biological activities attributed to their essential oils (EOs) and extracts. For this reason, various strategies have been developed for their conservation. The chemical compositions of the essential oils and matK DNA sequences of O. caudata, O. cujumary, and O. caniculata were subjected to comparison with data from O. floribunda, O. veraguensis, and O. whitei, previously reported. The multivariate analysis of chemical composition classified the EOs into two main clusters. Group I was characterized by the presence of α-pinene (9.8–22.5%) and β-pinene (9.7–21.3%) and it includes O. caudata, O. whitei, and O. floribunda. In group II, the oils of O. cujumary and O. caniculata showed high similarity due amounts of β-caryophyllene (22.2% and 18.9%, respectively). The EO of O. veraguensis, rich in p-cymene (19.8%), showed minor similarity among all samples. The oils displayed promising antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities against Escherichia coli (minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) < 19.5 µg·mL−1) and MCF-7 cells (median inhibitory concentration (IC50) ≅ 65.0 µg·mL−1), respectively. The analysis of matK gene displayed a good correlation with the main class of chemical compounds present in the EOs. However, the matK gene data did not show correlation with specific compounds.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have been used to promote numerous benefits to plants. In this study, we evaluated the symbiosis between AMF species (Rhizophagus clarus, Claroideoglomus etunicatum) and Piper nigrum L. ‘Bragantina’. Volatile compounds, lipoxygenase (LOX) and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activities, and total phenolic content were monitored from 1 to 60 days post-inoculation (dpi). Hyphae, arbuscles, and vesicles were observed during the root colonization. In the leaves, AMF induced an increase of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (54.0%–79.0%) and a decrease of oxygenated sesquiterpenes (41.3%–14.5%) at 7 dpi and 60 dpi (41.8%–21.5%), respectively. Cubenol, the main volatile compound of leaves, showed a significant decrease at 7 dpi (21.5%–0.28%) and 45 dpi (20.4%–18.42%). β-caryophyllene, the major volatile compound of the roots, displayed a significant reduction at 45 dpi (30.0%–20.0%). LOX increased in the roots at 21, 30, and 60 dpi. PAL was higher in leaves during all periods, except at 60 dpi, and increased at 21 and 45 dpi in the roots. The total phenolic content showed a significant increase only in the roots at 30 dpi. The results suggested that AMF provided changes in the secondary metabolism of P. nigrum, inducing its resistance.

To elucidate defense mechanisms of Piper nigrum against fusariosis, an experiment based on co-inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and Fusarium solani f. sp. piperis was performed. Variations in secondary metabolism in plants infected with F. solani f. sp. piperis (FUS) and co-inoculated with AMFs and F. solani (AMF + FUS) were monitored at 7- and 21-days post inoculations (dpi). The pathogen induced a decrease in oxygenated sesquiterpenes (82.0–77.4%), and changes in the concentrations of the main compounds, α-muurolene, α-muurolol, and 2E-hexenal in the leaves. It was observed that the concentration of 2E-hexenal decreased at 7 dpi, α-muurolene decreased at 21 dpi, and α-muurolol increased at 21 dpi. There was a prevalence of sesquiterpene and monoterpene hydrocarbons in the roots, such as β-caryophyllene, δ-elemene, and limonene. The infection and co-inoculation induced greater production of phenolics in the roots at 7 dpi. The enzymatic activity of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase decreased in the leaves at 21 dpi and in the roots on both days, while the lipoxygenase activity decreased only in the roots at 21 dpi. The results demonstrated that co-inoculation with AMFs and F. solani induces changes in the defense metabolism of P. nigrum, but it is not efficient in the biocontrol of fusariosis during the evaluated period.