Óleos essenciais das folhas de Vernonia Remotiflora e Vernonia Brasiliana: composição química e atividade biológica Volatile leaf oils of Vernonia Brasiliana and Vernonia Remotiflora: chemical composition and biological activity

Abstract

The chemical composition of the essential oils, obtained by hidrodistillation, from leaves of two Vernonia species (V. remotiflora and V. brasiliana), was determined by GC-FID and GC-MS. Both essential oils were predominantly constituted by sesquiterpenes (92.0 - 93.4%). The main constituents of the oil from V. brasilana were (E)-caryophyllene (36.7%), germacrene D (35.5%), and α-humulene (11.7%), while (E)-caryophyllene (42.2%) and bicyclogermacrene (20.0%) were the major ones in the oil from V. remotiflora. Although with moderate activity both oils showed acetylcholinesterase and antibacterial activities.

Keywords

• Vernonia remotiflora
• Vernonia brasiliana
• essential oils