title: Essential oil characterization of two Azorean Cryptomeria japonica populations and their biological evaluations.
abstract: Essential oils from foliage, bark and heartwood of Cryptomeriajaponica D. Don from Azores Archipelago (Portugal) were analyzed by GC and GC-MS. Two populations, of black and reddish heartwood color, were studied. The main compounds found in the foliage of both populations were alpha-pinene (9.6-29.5%), (+)-phyllocladene (3.5-26.5%), ent-kaur-16-ene (0.2-20.6%), sabinene (0.5-19.9%) and limonene (1.4-11.5%), with a large variation in individual compounds from each population. Heartwood oils were characterized by a high content of cubebol (2.8-39.9%) and epi-cubebol (4.1-26.9%) isomers, which were absent in the foliage. Elemol and eudesmol isomers were found in the foliage and heartwood oils, while (+)-phyllocladene was absent in heartwood. Black and reddish bark oils were composed of the diterpenes dehydroferruginol (1.9-5.1%) and ferruginol (2.6-11.5%), along with the sesquiterpenes delta-cadinene (10.4-15.9%), alpha-muurolene (3.3-5.4%), epi-zonarene (4.0-5.0%), cubenol (9.3-14.0%), tau-muurolol (4.8-10.7%), beta-eudesmol (3.0-9.9%), gamma-eudesmol (1.9-7.0%) and hedycariol (1.4-6.2%). Azorean C. japonica oils exhibited significant chemical differences compared with native plants from Asia. The essential oils showed moderate antimicrobial activity against the pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans and human pathogenic bacteria (especially against multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis). The antimicrobial activity of the essential oils may be attributed to compounds such as ent-kaur-16-ene, (+)-phyllocladene, ferruginol and elemol, which are present in different proportions within the complex oil mixture. These results suggest a potential use for C. japonica oils obtained from wood industry leftovers.
authors.affiliation: Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Centro de Química e Bioquímica, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal. cmmoiteiro@fc.ul.pt
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Moiteiro
authors.affiliation: Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Centro de Química e Bioquímica, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Esteves
authors.affiliation: Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia, LBA-Laboratório de Biocombustíveis e Ambiente, Estrada do Paço do Lumiar, 22, 1648-039 Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Luís
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ramalho
authors.affiliation: Laboratorios de Investigación y Desarrollo, Facultad de Ciencias y Filosofia, Universidad Peruana Cayetano
authors.forename: Rosario
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rojas
authors.affiliation: Heredia, Av. Honorio Delgado 430 Urb. Ingeniería S.MP. Lima 31, Perú
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.affiliation: Heredia, Av. Honorio Delgado 430 Urb. Ingeniería S.MP. Lima 31, Perú
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zacchino
authors.affiliation: lnstituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária I.P., Quinta do Marquês, 2780-159 Oeiras, Portugal.
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bragança
mesh_terms: D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000032:analysis*; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000032:analysis*; D001394:Azores; D032485:Cryptomeria / Q000737:chemistry*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D000995:Antitubercular Agents; D009822:Oils, Volatile