Abstract
Maytenus ilicifolia and Maytenus aquifolia species are widely used as a cicatrisation agent, an anti-spasmodic, contraceptive, antiulcerogenic, diuretic and analgesic. Considering the importance of these species in popular medicine, this work is focused on the determination of the chemical content of tannins and the triterpenes friedelan-3-one, friedelan-3-ol and friedelin in 15 native populations of Maytenus ilicifolia distributed in the south and mind-west regions of Brazil. Correlation of the concentration of these compounds with the environmental parameters such as average annual temperature, climate, vegetation, geomorphology, latitude and altitude was determined using Pearson's coefficient. Results showed that average annual temperature and climate have significant effect on tannin content at a 95% confidence level. The highest tannin concentration was found in Ponta Porã population, and for the triterpenes investigated, a significant correlation between their concentrations with the environmental variables studied was not verified.
Highlights
The use of plants with pharmaceutical properties has received increased interest nowadays from both homeopathic and allopathic branches
Maytenus ilicifolia and Maytenus aquifolia Mart. 1841 species are commonly used in popular medicine due to the attributed anti-spasmodic, contraceptive, antiulcerogenic, diuretic, cicatrisation and analgesic properties (Ohsaki et al, 2004; Vilegas et al, 1995; Tahir et al, 1999; Queiroga et al, 2000)
The population of Santana do Livramento, geographically situated in the extreme south regarding species occurrence in Brazil, may be located in a marginal area for this species, since Maytenus ilicifolia is not found in Uruguay, which explains the lowest triterpenes production
Summary
The use of plants with pharmaceutical properties has received increased interest nowadays from both homeopathic and allopathic branches These medicinal plants play an important role in public health, especially in developing countries, where it is believed that the intense utilisation of plants with therapeutic action does not lead to intoxication. There is a lack of studies regarding the environmental effects on the chemical composition of Maytenus ilicifolia Another important aspect that should be considered when dealing with extracts or essential oils in phytotherapy is related to the extraction technique employed. Catchpole et al (2002) mention that the use of compressed carbon dioxide may be an advantageous alternative for obtaining natural remedies with therapeutic interests In this context, the objective of this work is to investigate the chemical composition variation of tannins and the triterpenes friedelin, friedelan-3-ol and friedelan-3-one in 15 native populations of Maytenus ilicifolia. The tannin and triterpene contents were correlated to the macroenvironmental variables average annual temperature, climate, vegetation, geomorphology, latitude and altitude using Pearson’s coefficient
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