Abstract
Plumbago scandens L. is a Brazilian tropical/subtropical species that occurs along the coast. Chemically it is mainly represented by naphthoquinones, flavonoids, terpenoids and steroids. The aim of the present work is to study quantitative changes in the root metabolic production of Plumbago scandens during different physiologic developmental stages relative to floration. The results indicated the presence of four substances in the extracts: plumbagin, epi-isoshinanolone, palmitic acid and sitosterol, independent on developmental stage. The naphthoquinone plumbagin has always showed to be the major component of all extracts. Naphthoquinones exhibited their highest content during floration, while the content of the two others components decreased during this stage, revealing an inverse profile. The chemical composition changed depending on the plant requirements.
Highlights
Plumbago scandens L. belongs to the family Plumbaginaceae, order Plumbaginales, superorder Plumbaginanae, according to Dahlgren 1989
According to the system proposed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, the family Plumbaginaceae is placed with Polygonaceae, in the order Caryophyllales (APGIII 2009)
The major extract yield was obtained after the floral development
Summary
Plumbago scandens L. belongs to the family Plumbaginaceae, order Plumbaginales, superorder Plumbaginanae, according to Dahlgren 1989. Plumbago scandens is a subshrub with white flowers quite widespread in Brazil, being found along the coast It is a native species found in a typical vegetation of “restinga”, which is characterized by high luminous intensity, sandy soil and water restriction. This plant has already disappeared in many places due to human’s activity It can be found in Southerm Florida, Texas and Arizona, Mexico, Central America, the west Indies and South America (Verhoek-Williams 1970). This species is known as “louco” since their leaves are used as nape compresses in people with mental disorders in order to calm them down (Braga 1960 apud Lorenzi and Matos 2002). According to Mors et al 2000 apud Lorenzi and Matos
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