Chemical Constituents and Biological Activities of Araucaria angustifolia (Bertol.) O. Kuntze: A Review

Abstract

Araucaria angustifolia is a tree that belongs to Araucariaceae family and it is mainly found in Southern Brazil. This plant has a notable therapeutical history in folk medicine holding great socioeconomic and environmental importance. Until now, some studies were conducted to assess its chemical composition, biological and pharmacological properties. The studies have shown that the bark, knot, needles (leaves), seeds and bracts (sterile seeds) contain high concentrations of active compounds and exhibit different biological effects. In the folk medicine the different parts of this plant are used to treat various types of illnesses, such as shingles, respiratory tract infections, sexually transmitted diseases and some types of wounds. Bearing this in mind, this review focuses on all currently chemical and biological effects already reported for A. angustifolia and provide a novel perspective and useful information for future research.

Reuse of Different Agroindustrial Wastes: Pinhão and Pecan Nutshells Incorporated into Biocomposites Using Thermocompression

“…Pinhão is the seed that comes from the pine cones of the Araucaria angustifolia, a native tree of the southern region of Brazil [18]. The seeds have great nutritional value [19] being widely used in regional cooking.…”

“…The pinhão edible part is the pulp, but it contains a very resistant coating, called shell, a lignocellulosic material known for the high phenolic compounds content [20]. Phenolic compounds can be regarded as the major constituents in this particular plant [18]. The shells corresponds to 22% of the seed mass [21] and is usually discarded as a residue, taking considerable time to decompose.…”

Phytochemical Profile of Wollemia nobilis Half-Matured Female Cones and Their Potential Ethnopharmacological and Nutraceutical Activities

“…Yet, 7''-O-methyl-agathisflavone (5) has been reported before only in some Agathis and Araucaria species [16][17][18][19]. Lastly, quinic acid (8) is a quite rare compound in Gymnosperms where it has been found only in two Araucaria species [20,21]. For what concerns the other compounds, they are very common compounds in the plant kingdom thus not presenting chemotaxonomic relevance.…”

Anatomical and Physicochemical Characterization of the Araucaria angustifolia Seed Coat

“…In this study, phenolic compounds were detected by histochemical tests in external parenchymatous tissues of the endotesta. Branco et al (2016) related the presence of catechin and quercetin among phenolic compounds of pinhão seed. Catechin may form polymeric proanthocyanidins, also called condensed tannins, which have antioxidant activity, controlling reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and avoiding greater oxidative damages.…”

“…A. angustifolia has great economic value due to the mechanical and physical properties of the wood. Different parts of this species have been used in the folk medicine in South America, leading to chemical, biological and pharmacological studies (Branco et al, 2016). Commonly known as pinhão, its seed presents high nutritional value (Silva et al, 2011), and is used in human nutrition as a traditional high caloric source content food (NEPA, 2011;Cordoba et al, 2016).…”