Microclimatic factors and phenology influences in the chemical composition of the essential oils from Pittosporum undulatum Vent. leaves

Abstract

O óleo essencial das folhas de um espécime brasileiro de Pittosporum undulatum Vent. foi analisado através de cromatografia a gás-espectrometria de massas (CG-EM), além de análise por RMN após separação cromatográfica. As folhas de P. undulatum foram coletadas durante um ano (Janeiro, Março, Maio, Julho, Setembro e Novembro de 2004) e os óleos essenciais obtidos foram submetidos à análise por CG e CG/EM. O óleo mostrou-se composto por hidrocarbonetos monoterpênicos e sesquiterpênicos, sendo o (+)-limoneno o constituinte principal. Através dos resultados obtidos por essa análise, observou-se uma variação significativa na proporção relativa de (+)-limoneno em cada uma das coletas realizadas, a qual poderia estar correlacionada a parâmetros microclimáticos (temperatura e índice pluviométrico) além de fenologia da espécie estudada.The essential oil from leaves of a Brazilian specimen of Pittosporum undulatum Vent. was analyzed by means of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and NMR analysis after chromatographic separation. The leaves of P. undulatum were collected during one year (January, March, May, July, September and November, 2004) and the obtained essential oils were analyzed. The oil is rich in hydrocarbon monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, being (+)-limonene the main constituent. It was observed a significant variation on the relative amount of (+)-limonene in these collections, which could be associated to microclimatic parameters (temperature and pluviometric index) despite of phenology of the studied species. Keywords: Pittosporum undulatum, essential oil, chemical variability IntroductionPittosporum undulatum (Pittosporaceae), named "pauincenso" in Brazil because its leaves and fruits present a characteristic smell, is a tree of 12 m in its natural habitat but usually smaller in cultivation (7-10 m). Small, white, fragrant flowers occur in terminal clusters in spring and early summer and are followed by orange-tan berries 1 cm in diameter in autumn, which persist for several months. This species has been found as a wild plant in tropical forest from Africa, Asia and New Zealand and have been also planted as ornamental specie in other tropical regions of the world such as Brazilian cities, for example São Paulo. 1,2The chemical composition of fruits and leaves of P. undulatum have been extensively studied and several terpenoid derivatives were found, mainly triterpenoid sapogenins. [3][4][5] The essential oils from several species of Pittosporum have previously been described. The oil from leaves of P. senacia collected in Madagascar was composed by 20.4% of monoterpenes, 31.7% of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons and 37.8% of sesquiterpene alcohols being the major compounds δ-cadinene (11.3%), α-muurolol (15.9%) and α-cadinol (19.0%).6 From leaves of P. balfourii, collected in Island of Rodrigues, east of Madagascar, was obtained an essential oil composed by 86.2% of monoterpenes and 4.9% of sesquiterpenes, and the major component was identified as myrcene (47.5%). 7 In the essential oil from leaves of...

Essential oils fromSchinus terebinthifoliusleaves – chemical composition andin vitrocytotoxicity evaluation

“…As part of our ongoing studies devoted to investigations on essential oils (Arimori et al, 2010;Carvalho et al, 2010;Lago et al, 2006), this work describes the volatile composition from leaves of S. terebinthifolius. Considering there is just one report regarding the cytotoxic activity of the essential oils from leaves of S. terebinthifolius (Bendaoud et al, 2010), but without recognition of active compounds, the obtained crude oil was subjected to chromatographic separation procedures to afford an active fraction composed of α-and β-pinenes.…”

Evaluation of antifungal activity of Pittosporum undulatum L. essential oil against Aspergillus flavus and aflatoxin production

“…This difference in chemical composition justifies the obtained results on the antifungal activity of plant essential oils (Medeiros et al, 2003;Lee et al, 2004). Lago et al (2006) identified the monoterpene: a -pinene, a -myrcene, limonene, -elemene and sesquiterpenes: á -copaene, â-elemene, â -caryophyllene, aromadendrene, bicyclogermacrene, d-cadinene, being limonene the main constituent of essential oil P. undulatum, on the other hand, Medeiros et al (2003) related that P. undulatum oil essential contain monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, diterpenes and alkanes, such as: calamenene (41.4%), farnesol (10.9%), spathulenol (5.6%) and -selinene (5.2%) and the diterpene (8 , 13 )-kaur-16-ene (10.7%).…”

“…This species has been found as a wild plant in tropical forest from Africa, Asia and New Zealand and have been also planted as ornamental specie in other tropical regions of the world such as Brazilian cities (Lago et al, 2006). Medeiros et al (2003) related the microbiology activity of the P. undulatum against Staphylococcus aureus and S. epidermis.…”

Caracterização do lenho e variação radial de Pittosporum undulatum Vent. (pau-incenso)

“…Caracteres macroscópicos -Cerne e alburno indistintos; cor bege claro (Munsell 1957), com brilho moderado, gosto e cheiro imperceptíveis, moderadamente dura ao corte, grã direita, textura fina, camadas de crescimento distintas. Destaca-se que apesar da espécie ser popularmente conhecida como pauincenso, em nossa análise sua madeira não apresentou cheiro, o que pode parecer um contra senso, no entanto segundo a literatura o cheiro da planta exala de suas folhas e frutos (Lago et al 2006). Descrição macroscópica -Parênquima axial invisível mesmo sob lente de 10×; raios visíveis a olho nu, finos a médios, muito poucos; vasos visíveis apenas sob lente de 10×, muito pequenos a pequenos, pouco numerosos a numerosos, porosidade difusa uniforme, em arranjo radial, sem obstrução, camada de crescimento distinta (figura 3); raios baixos, visíveis no plano tangencial apenas sob lente de 10×, não estratificados, pouco contrastados no plano radial.…”

“…Como o nome pau-incenso sugere, a árvore exala um odor característico que está relacionado à sua composição química, Lago et al (2006) mencionam que em todo mundo há um estudo extensivo sobre a composição do óleo essencial retirado das folhas e frutos de P. undulatum. No entanto, são raros os trabalhos sobre anatomia e densidade do lenho, como os de Metcalfe & Chalk (1950) e Carlquist (1981 que descreveram as características do gênero e o de Hermann Nördlinger (1818-1897), mencionado por Bubner (2008) que no século XIX publicou uma série de fotos com secções transversais de diversas espécies, entre elas P. undulatum.…”