FT-Raman and GC/MS of extract and epicuticular waxes of Anacardium occidentale L. Leaves from Amazon

Abstract

Anacardium occidentale is a globally known plant and has great economic importance in the food and resins industry. In traditional medicine, several uses are made of leaves in the treatment of gastrointestinal and skin diseases. Its biological properties have been confirmed in antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory studies. This work aimed to analyze the chemical composition of the ethanolic extract and the wax epicuticulares of the leaves of A. occidentale by means of the Gas Chromatography (GC/MS) and Raman Spectroscopy (FT-Raman) techniques. FT-Raman analysis showed a stretch of the C-H2, characteristic band in plant epicuticular waxes. In CG/MS a complex of aliphatic and cyclic mixtures was observed, among them alkanes and triterpenes. In the ethanolic extract the terpenes were the majority compounds by CG/MS. The knowledge of the chemical composition of A. occidentale, mainly of the epicuticular waxes, is important due to its relevance in the market, and it becomes a starting point for new studies of agroecological knowledge, such as the properties of epicuticular waxes in the interaction with the environment , pathogens and herbicides, and also for the search of new pharmacological properties.