Analysis of the Essential Oils of Chamaemelum fuscatum (Brot.) Vasc. from Spain as a Contribution to Reinforce Its Ethnobotanical Use

Marcos Fernández-Cervantes,Ana Cristina Soria,María José Pérez-Alonso,Trinidad Ruiz-Téllez,José Blanco-Salas

doi:10.3390/f10070539

Marcos Fernández-Cervantes, Ana Cristina Soria + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/f10070539

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Abstract

Chamaemelum fuscatum (Brot.) Vasc. is a south west Iberian chamomile that has been traditionally used as folk medicine in its natural distribution area but currently it is underestimated regarding its biological activities. For this reason, it is proposed in this paper to get insight into the scientific validation of the traditional knowledge of this plant with the aim of taking advantage of its anti-inflammatory, gastroprotective and antinociceptive activities, among others. To this aim, the chemical composition of the essential oil from the whole plant, the flowers and the green parts of this plant has been evaluated by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Plant materials were collected in Badajoz (Spain). A total of 61 components including monoterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids and aliphatic esters were identified. (E)-2-Methyl-2-butenyl methacrylate (27.57%–18.53%) and 2-methylallyl isobutyrate (9.79%–7.51%) were the most abundant compounds in the essential oils of flowers and of the whole plant, whereas α-curcumene, trans-pinocarveol, α-bergamotene and pinocarvone were the major terpenoids irrespective of the plant part considered. Certain compounds showing a relative high abundance as isobutyl methacrylate, isoamyl butyrate, α-bergamotene and pinocarvone were identified for the first time in this species. Finally, we have reviewed the bioactivity of several compounds to relate the ethnobotanical use of this plant in Spain with its volatile profile. This work is a preliminary contribution to reinforce the use to this Mediterranean endemic plant as a natural source of bioactives.

Highlights

Ethnobotanical studies often bring to light interesting uses to be further validated
Aliphatic esters were the predominant class of compounds identified in the essential oils of flowers and the whole plant (50.46% and 34.33%, respectively), followed by sesquiterpenoids (23.77%–24.72%)
Aliphatic esters had been previously reported in C. fuscatum [8,9,10] and in related chamomile species as Chamaemelum nobile and in several species of the Anthemis genus [39]. (E)-2-methyl-2-butenyl methacrylate had been described in the hexane extract of the aerial parts by De Pascual et al [8], together with other methacrylates (2-hydroxy-2-methyl-3-butenyl methacrylate and 2-hydroxy-2-methyl-3-oxobutyl methacrylate) that have not been detected here

Summary

Introduction

Ethnobotanical studies often bring to light interesting uses to be further validated. This is the case of a little-known west Mediterranean chamomile, Chamaemelum fuscatum (Brot.) Vasc., Asteraceae, frequent in south west of the Iberian Peninsula, forming part of terophytic pastures on wet or temporarily flooded substrates, from 100 to 900 m [1,2]. It is an annual and aromatic little daisy (2–7 cm) easy to identify by its involucral bracts and interfloral scales. Most of the verified uses of this species have been described for its natural distribution area that roughly coincides with the Luso-Extremadurean region (Table 1)

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