Essential oils from leaves of Cryptocarya spp from the Atlantic rain forest

Abstract

The essential oils from leaves of four Cryptocarya spp endemic in the Brazilian Atlantic rain forest were obtained by hydrodistillation and shown by GC-MS analysis to contain mono and sesquiterpenes. The major components of the oil of Cryptocarya moschata were linalool (34.3%), α-terpinene (17.0%), γ-terpinene (10.4%), 1,8-cineole (5.8%) and trans-ocimene (4.8%), whilst those of C. botelhensis were α-pinene (22.7%), β-pinene (9.2%), trans-verbenol (8.4%), trans-pinocarveol (5.5%) and myrtenal (5.4%). The principal compounds of C. mandioccana oil were β-caryophyllene (13.8%), spathulenol (10.2%), caryophyllene oxide (7.8%), δ-cadinene (6.9%) and bicyclogermacrene (6.4%), whilst those of C. saligna were germacrene D (15.5%), bicyclogermacrene (13.8%), spathulenol (11.8%) and germacrene B (5.7%).