title: Essential oil analysis of 10 Piperaceae species from the Brazilian Atlantic forest.
abstract: The volatile composition of ten Piperaceae species, comprising three genera (Ottonia, Piper and Peperomia) has been studied. The species were collected in a typical fragment of the Brazilian Atlantic forest, constantly being damaged by human action. The essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation in a modified Clevenger-type apparatus and their analyses were performed by GC and GC/MS. Identification of the substances was made by comparison of mass spectra and retention indices with literature records. A great number of non-oxygenated monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes were identified. Most of these sesquiterpenes are derived from E,E-farnesyl-PP, suggesting a preference of these species to synthesize metabolites from this pathway. Arylpropanoids, although being common compounds produced by Piperaceae species, were not found in these oils.
authors.affiliation: Núcleo de Pesquisas de Produtos Naturais, Universidade Federal do, CEP. 21941-590, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: P R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: dos Santos
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: de Limas Moreira
authors.forename: E F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Guimarães
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kaplan
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000032:analysis*; D026321:Piperaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D009822:Oils, Volatile