Chemical composition of the essential oil of Myrcia loranthifolia (Myrtaceae) leaves grown in Atlantic Forest and Dry Forest of Brazil

Abstract

The present study evaluated the chemical composition of the leaf essential oil of Myrcia loranthifolia from Atlantic Forest and Dry Forest of Brazil. The oil showed a mean yield of 0.23–0.33%. From 26 to 32 compounds were identified by GC–MS depending on the geographical origin of the plant. (E)–Caryophyllene (47.80%) and germacrene D (10.07%) predominated in the oil of samples from the Atlantic Forest. In Dry Forest, the main constituent identified in the oil was also (E)–caryophyllene, but it was detected in a lower concentration (15.59%). Cis–calamenene (11.40%), the second major constituent found in the oil of plants from Dry Forest, was not identified in samples from the Atlantic Forest. The qualitative and quantitative differences found may be due to local abiotic factors or inherent to genetic characteristics of the plants. The essential oil of M. loranthifolia constitutes one of the largest sources of (E)–caryophyllene yet unexplored.