Chemical Composition of the Essential Oil of Cnidoscolus quercifolius from Brazil
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CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE ESSENTIAL OIL OF Cnidoscolus quercifolius FROM BRAZIL
A. S. Alves,1 M. M. de Moraes,1 C. A. G. da Camara,1* and M. F. A. Lucena2
The Caatinga is a semi-arid biome exclusive to Brazil with considerable biodiversity and a biological heritage including 4880 species of flowering plants, 291 of which are endemic to the region [1]. Cnidoscolus quercifolius (syn. Cnidoscolus phyllacanthus) belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae and is found exclusively in the Caatinga. This typically xerophilic tree can reach a height of 12 meters. Its leaves are long, thick, and lanceolate, with jagged edges; stinging trichomes cover the branches, leaves, and fruit [2]. C. quercifolius is abundant in states of the northeastern region of the country and is known locally as favela, favela–de-cachorro, or faveleira [3]. The cataplasm under the outer bark and infusions made from the leaves are used in folk medicine due to their healing, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, and diuretic properties, as well as for the treatment of rashes and to remove warts [4, 5]. Different parts of the plant are used to feed animals, and the seeds are used to make flour and to extract oil of high nutritional value [6, 7]. The literature reveals several biologic activities for different parts of C. quercifolius. The seed oil of C. quercifolius showed high antioxidant activity [8], and the ethanolic extract of the leaves, roots, and root barks revealed anti-inflammatory [5] and antimicrobial activity [9]. The ethyl acetate fraction of the ethanolic extract demonstrated a strong cytotoxic effect against prostate and breast cancer cell lines [10], and aqueous extracts of C. quercifolius showed a hypoglycemic effect and no oral toxicity, revealing a new source of compounds for the control of diabetes [11]. Phytochemical studies of the species reveal the occurrence of amino acids, terpenoids [12], tetracyclic cyclobutene (neofavelanone) [13], tetracyclic cyclopropane (favelanone) [14], and tricyclic benzocycloheptene derivatives (deoxofaveline, faveline methyl ether, and faveline) [15]. To the best of our knowledge, C. quercifolius has not previously been investigated for the identification of the chemical constituents of its essential oils. This paper reports for the first time the chemical composition of essential oils from the leaves, flowers, and bark of C. quercifolius occurring in the Caatinga of Brazil. The essential oils obtained through conventional hydrodistillation of fresh leaves, flowers, and bark of C. quercifolius had a light yellow color. The yield on a fresh weight basis was 0.01% for leaves, 0.03% for flowers, and 0.01% for bark. The oils were submitted to CG-MS for the determination of the constituents. Thirty-one, thirty, and eighteen compounds were identified in the essential oils from leaves, flowers, and bark, respectively, accounting for 97.3%, 98.5%, and 81.4% of the total oils (Table 1). Diterpene was the predominant class of compounds in the leaf (44.6%) and bark (72.5%) oils, whereas monoterpenes predomin
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