Essential Oils from Five Southern Brazilian Species of<i>Myrcia</i>(Myrtaceae)

Abstract

Abstract Essential oils from fresh leaves of five Myrcia species collected in the southern region of Brazil were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Seventy compounds representing 87.5% to 97.0% of the oils were identified. Two samples comprised mainly of monoterpenes with linalool being the most abundant compound in M. acuminatissima oil (22.3%), whereas α- and β-pinenes represented 36.3% of M. bombycina oil. The three other oil samples were found to be rich in sesquiterpenes. The oil of M. fallax contained a high percentage of α-bisabolol (83.8%), while M. glabra oil was characterized by the presence of selinenes (15.2%) and valerianol (13.2%). Finally, the oil of M. multiflora was found to be the most complex with germacrene D (8.7%) and β-caryophyllene (7.5%) being the two major constituents.