Chemical composition, circadian rhythm and antibacterial activity of essential oils of piper divaricatum: a new source of safrole

The essential oils from leaves, stems and fruits of Piper divaricatum were analyzed by GC-MS. The tissues showed high safrole content: leaves (98%), fruits (87%) and stems (83%), with yields of 2.0, 4.8 and 1.7%, respectively. This is a new alternative source of safrole, a compound widely used as a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inQuímica Nova Vol. 35; no. 9; pp. 1806 - 1808
Main Authors Barbosa, Queila P. S., Câmara, Cláudio A. G. da, Ramos, Clécio S., Nascimento, Daniele C. O., Lima-Filho, José V., Guimarães, Elsie F.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Sociedade Brasileira de Química 2012
Subjects
Piper divaricatum
Piperaceae
safrole
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Summary:The essential oils from leaves, stems and fruits of Piper divaricatum were analyzed by GC-MS. The tissues showed high safrole content: leaves (98%), fruits (87%) and stems (83%), with yields of 2.0, 4.8 and 1.7%, respectively. This is a new alternative source of safrole, a compound widely used as a flavoring agent and insecticide. The leaf's oil showed antibacterial activity against gram-negative bacteria while safrole was active against Salmonella Typhimurium and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In addition, the study of circadian rhythm of the safrole concentration in the essential oils of leaves showed a negligible variation of 92 to 98%.
ISSN:0100-4042
1678-7064
DOI:10.1590/S0100-40422012000900019