Abstract
Ocotea species present economic importance and biological activities attributed to their essential oils (EOs) and extracts. For this reason, various strategies have been developed for their conservation. The chemical compositions of the essential oils and matK DNA sequences of O. caudata, O. cujumary, and O. caniculata were subjected to comparison with data from O. floribunda, O. veraguensis, and O. whitei, previously reported. The multivariate analysis of chemical composition classified the EOs into two main clusters. Group I was characterized by the presence of α-pinene (9.8–22.5%) and β-pinene (9.7–21.3%) and it includes O. caudata, O. whitei, and O. floribunda. In group II, the oils of O. cujumary and O. caniculata showed high similarity due amounts of β-caryophyllene (22.2% and 18.9%, respectively). The EO of O. veraguensis, rich in p-cymene (19.8%), showed minor similarity among all samples. The oils displayed promising antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities against Escherichia coli (minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) < 19.5 µg·mL−1) and MCF-7 cells (median inhibitory concentration (IC50) ≅ 65.0 µg·mL−1), respectively. The analysis of matK gene displayed a good correlation with the main class of chemical compounds present in the EOs. However, the matK gene data did not show correlation with specific compounds.
Highlights
The genus Ocotea is not a monophyletic group of the Lauraceae, which includes about 400 species occurring mostly in tropical and subtropical regions (Central and South America, the West Indies, and Africa) [1,2]
Phytochemical studies reported the occurrence of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids, neolignans, catechins from leaves and bark of O. porosa [6,7]; aporphine alkaloids from leaves of O. macrophylla; flavonols from O. vellosiana; and eudesmane sesquiterpenoids from O. corymbosa [8,9,10]
The essential oil (EO) of Ocotea species provided different yields and the higher yields were found in the leaf essential oils (EOs) for all samples (0.7–0.8%) (Table 1)
Summary
The genus Ocotea is not a monophyletic group of the Lauraceae, which includes about 400 species occurring mostly in tropical and subtropical regions (Central and South America, the West Indies, and Africa) [1,2]. Bisexual, polygamous, or unisexual; tepals equal, rarely persistent on the rim; nine fertile stamens, the third whorl with glands; anthers with four loculos; receptacle very small and deeply tubular; in male flowers, rudimentary ovary to absent; fruit and cupule extremely variable in size and shape [1]. It is a very variable genus morphologically, being the largest genus in the Neotropics, with 170 species occurring in Brazil [3,4]. Studies on the chemical characteristics of the species O. caudata, O. cujumary, and O. caniculata are rare and important because Ocotea species are classified as threatened to extinction by the Brazilian List and the risk of extinction is increased due the reduction of genetic variability [19,20] so knowledge of the genetic diversity is necessary for our understanding of the factors that determine essential oil quantity and quality in these economically important species [21]
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