Chemical composition of essential oils from Amazonian Annonaceae: Anaxagorea brevipes Benth., Guatteria scytophylla Diels, Xylopia aromatica (Lam.) Mart. and Xylopia benthamii R.E. Fr.

Abstract

The study evaluated the chemical composition of essential oils from four Annonaceae species found in Manaus, Amazonas. The essential oils were extracted through hydrodistillation and analyzed using gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The essential oil from Anaxagorea brevipes leaves was found to contain as major constituents, the oxygenated sesquiterpenes spathulenol (19.1%) and caryophyllene oxide (13.0%). In Guatteria scytophylla, caryophyllene oxide was also predominant constituent identified in the leaves (21.4%), while 1-epi-cubenol (12.7%) and caryophyllene oxide (12.0%) showed higher percentages in the branches. In the Xylopia species, hydrocarbon monoterpenes were predominant: α-pinene (13.3%) and β-pinene (12.3%) were identified in the fruits of X. aromatica, while β-pinene (15.8%) and sabinene (11.2%) were found in the leaves of X. benthamii. These findings expand knowledge regarding the chemical composition of volatile constituents in the Amazonian flora and provide a basis for future research into the biological and ecological potential of these compounds.