Abstract
Pitnenta is a genus of flowering plants in the Myrtaceae family, which has about 15 species, mostly found in the Caribbean region of the Americas. Commonly used for culinary and medicinal purposes, the best known commercial species are allspice, P. dioica (P. officinalis) and bay rum, P. racemosa, but there is little information concerning P. guatemalensis. The aim of the present study was to identify the chemical composition of the leaf and fruit essential oils ofP. guatemalensis. The extraction of essential oils of P. guatemalensis growing wild in Costa Rica was carried out by the hydrodistillation method at atmospheric pressure, using a modified Clevenger type apparatus. The chemical composition of the oils was analyzed by capillary gas chromatographyflame ionization detector (GC/FID) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) using the retention indices on DB-5 type capillary column. A total of 103 and 63 compounds were identified in the leaf and fruit oils, respectively, corresponding to 96.8% and 86.1% of the total amount of the oils. The leaf oil consisted mainly of eugenol (72.8%), and mono- and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (18.2%). Among terpenes the major components were beta-caryophyllene (8.2%) and terpinolene (3.0%). The fruit oil also consisted mainly of eugenol (74.7%) and minor amounts of oxygenated mono- and sesquiterpenes (7.3%), mainly caryophyllene oxide (3.3%). This is the first report of the chemical composition of the essential oils obtained from this plant species.
Highlights
Myrtaceae is a family constituted of about 142 genera and includes more than 5 500 species of mostly trees and shrubs with conspicuous oil glands, distributed predominantly in the Southern hemisphere, mainly in Australia and South America (Wilson, 2011)
The name Pimenta dioica was frequently misapplied to P. guatemalensis native populations in Costa Rica (Barrie, 2007)
In the present work we report the chemical composition of the oils isolated by hydrodistillation from leaves and fruits of P. guatemalensis collected in Costa Rica
Summary
Myrtaceae is a family constituted of about 142 genera and includes more than 5 500 species of mostly trees and shrubs with conspicuous oil glands, distributed predominantly in the Southern hemisphere, mainly in Australia and South America (Wilson, 2011). M. Perry, clove, and Pimenta dioica (L.) Merr., allspice], as a source of commercial essential oils [clove, Melaleuca alternifolia Cheel, teatree oil, Eucalyptus spp. and Pimenta racemosa (Mill.) J.W. Moore, bay rum oil] and many Myrtaceae are important in horticulture as flowering ornamentals (Callistemon spp., Melaleuca spp.). Paula, Reis, Ferreira, Menezes, and Paula (2010), and Rao, Navinchandra, and Jayaveera (2012) and Lim (2012) have recently reviewed some botanical aspects, traditional medicinal uses, biological and pharmacological activities and chemical compositions of Pimenta dioica and P. racemosa (the most important from the economical point of view) and P. pseudocaryophyllus, the only species of this genus that grows in the Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest in South America (Marques et al, 2010; Paula et al, 2011). In the present work we report the chemical composition of the oils isolated by hydrodistillation from leaves and fruits of P. guatemalensis collected in Costa Rica
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