Chemical profile of essential oils of the Costa Rican native tree Myrcianthes storkii (Myrtaceae)

Abstract

Introduction: The genus Myrcianthes ranges from southern Florida to Chile, including the Caribbean, and the species Myrcianthes storkii is a shrub or tree found in Costa Rica and western Panama, in wet to very rainy, cloud, and oak forests (altitude 1300-3150m). Objective: To identify the chemical composition of essential oils from leaves, floral buds, and twigs of M. storkii of Costa Rica. Methods: We obtained the essential oils through hydrodistillation in a Clevenger-type apparatus. The chemical composition of the oils was done by GC/FID and GC/MS, using the retention indices on DB-5 and Carbowax types of capillary columns in addition to mass spectra. Results: The oils consisted mainly of terpenoids (55,45-87,75%). A total of 281 compounds accounted for 91,27-74,56% of the total amount of oils. The major constituents from the leaf oil were myrcene (17,44%), cis-calamenene (12,60%), α-pinene (5,48%), (E)-caryophyllene (5,16%), limonene (3,91%), p-cymene (3,71%), 1,8-cineole (2,80%), and α-humulene (2,80%). The floral bud essential oil consisted mainly of α-pinene (15,23%), cis-calamenene (12,70%), myrcene (8,59%), 1,8-cineole (4,26%), germacrene B (3,65%), α-humulene (3,55%), and (E)-caryophyllene oxide (2,93%). The major components of twig oil were cis-calamenene (11,31%), palmitic acid (7,99%), (E)-caryophyllene (4,68%), -cadinene (3,28%), cubenol (3,24%), and (Z)-caryophyllene oxide (2,94%). Conclusion: The presence of a significant quantity of myrcene and cis-calamenene seems to be characteristic of this species.

Keywords

• Myrcianthes storkii
• essential oils
• cis-calamenene
• myrcene
• α-pinene
• 1,8-cineole