Abstract
Because of the increasing demand of the industry for the production of essential oils, studies highlight the genetic variability of Piper hispidinervum and P. aduncum species according to their patterns of spatial distribution, showing the Amazon region as the source of superior genetic material in the production of safrole and dillapiole. Thus, the objective this study was to characterize the morphology and the phytochemistry of Piper hispidinervum and P. aduncum populations in the Active Germplasm Bank of Embrapa Acre to generate subsidies for the genetic improvement of these species. The results showed that the average values for leaf width and length were 141.67 and 48.04 mm, and petioles length and diameter measurements were 2.83 and 1.78 mm for P. hispidinervum and 189.22; 67.74; 6.03 and 2.22 mm for P. aduncum respectively. The average height and canopy volume measurements were 2.39 m and 6.30 m3 and 2.70 m and 7.78 m3 respectively for each species. For P. hispidinervum, the population with higher performance indried yield and content of safrole was population 02, with 3.9%, and the population 04 showed 94.3% safrole content, both with genetic material from the region of Acrelândia and Plácido de Castro. To P. aduncum, the populations with better performance were 207, 208 and 209, forming a homogeneous group with dried yield average of 3.8% and dillapiol content of 84-85%. Such populations are indicated for selection in breeding program of these species due to better performance.
Highlights
The Amazon is a great source of natural products for various human uses
These characteristics were associated with the location data of the collection of genetic material for both species, indicating patterns of behavior regarded to the yield in moisture-free basis and the amounts of safrole and dilapiolle
The results found in this study were similar to those found by Silva & Oliveira (2000), who observed that the safrole producer species, P. hispidinervum, located in the Mesoregion of Acre Valley, including the municipalities of Acrelândia and Plácido de Castro (Rio Branco microrregion), and Brasiléia and Assis Brazil (Brasiléia Microregion), on the east part of the state
Summary
The Amazon is a great source of natural products for various human uses. Essential oils, secondary metabolite compounds produced by several plants, are part of such products and play biological and flavoring activities (Andrade et al, 2009). Among the largest producers of oil are the Piperaceae, widely used in medical and agronomic uses in many countries (Hartemink & Sullivan, 2001; Yoneda, 2006; Celis et al, 2008). Among the most commonly species used as essential oils producers are Piper hispidinervum and P. aduncum, from which safrole and dillapiole are extracted, respectively. The wide application of these products attracts the attention of producers and industry, which increases the demand for their exploitation and obtaining improved cultivars for the introduction of these species in agricultural systems, especially in the Amazon region (Gaia et al, 2004). Several studies point to the genetic diversity of these species, in which P. hispidinervum shows higher yields and safrole contents in the Amazon region (Andrade et al, 2009). Studies show that its variability is still large inside the Amazon region itself, with distinct genotypes distributed by the states of Amazonas and Pará (Gottlieb et al, 1981)
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