Microclimatic factors and phenology influences in the chemical composition of the essential oils from Pittosporum undulatum Vent. leaves

Abstract

The essential oil from leaves of a Brazilian specimen of Pittosporum undulatum Vent, was analyzed by means of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and NMR analysis after chromatographic separation. The leaves of P. undulatum were collected during one year (January, March, May, July, September and November, 2004) and the obtained essential oils were analyzed. The oil is rich in hydrocarbon monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, being (+)-limonene the main constituent. It was observed a significant variation on the relative amount of (+)-limonene in these collections, which could be associated to microclimatic parameters (temperature and pluviometric index) despite of phenology of the studied species. © 2006 Sociedade Brasileira de Química.