Larissa C. do B. Costa

Yield and composition of essential oil of lemongrass in different drying and fragmentation conditions

In this study the drying and fragmentation conditions of lemongrass leaves were determined, to increase the essential oil yield. Four replications of six treatments were studied with 2 drying methodologies (oven-drying at 40oC and room temperature using moisture dryer) and 3 fragmentation sizes (powder obtained in mill, 1 cm and 20 cm fragments). The essential oil was extracted in Clevengers modified apparatus during 2 hours. The higher essential oil yield and citral content was obtained with the leaves dried under room temperature using moisture dryer, with no significant differences in the fragmentation sizes.

Analgesic and antidiarrheal properties of Ocimum selloi essential oil in mice

Ocimum selloi essential oil (2, 20, and 200 mg/kg; p.o.) reduced, in a dose-dependent way, the abdominal contraction induced by acetic acid (0.6%; i.p.) and the diarrhea episodes induced by castor oil in mice. At the higher dose (200 mg/kg; p.o.), the essential oil significantly reduced intestinal transit (P<0.05) in the charcoal meal test. The main component detected in O. selloi essential oil was methyl chavicol (98%; GC and GC/MS).These effects seems to support the use of O. selloi against diarrhea, intestinal spasm and visceral pain.

Determinação do tempo de hidrodestilação e do horário de colheita no óleo essencial de menta

The extraction time and harvest moment are important information in the study of herbs. They can maximize the efficiency of the extraction process and the amount of essential oil produced. The objective of this study was to determine the time of hydrodistillation and evaluate the effect of the harvest moment on the content, yield and chemical composition of essential oil of Mentha x piperita var citrata. The treatments consisted of four extraction times (30, 60, 90 and 120 min) and five harvest moments (9:00, 11:00, 13:00, 15:00 and 17:00 hours) with four replications arranged in a randomized design. After 60 minutes of hydrodistillation in Clevenger apparatus the volume extracted stabilized. In relation to the harvest moment, a significant variation was observed in the essential oil content throughout the day, the highest value (1.33%) being found in samples taken at 13:00h. Variation in the chemical composition of essential oil was also noticed and higher contents of α-fenchol and cis-myrtanol were verified in the morning and in the afternoon, respectively.

Light intensity on growth, leaf micromorphology and essential oil production of Ocimum gratissimum

Light conditions can promote the growth and development of plants and contribute to increase the essential oil production of commercially cultivated medicinal and aromatic species. In view of the great importance of Ocimum gratissimum L., Lamiaceae, as an aromatic plant, the objective of this work was to determine the effect of light intensities (approximately 4, 7, 11 and 20 mol m-2 d-1) on growth, foliar micromorphology, essential oil content, yield and chemical composition of O. gratissimum. Biomass production of different organs, root:shoot ratio and leaf mass per area were found to linearly increase with increased light availability, whereas stem dry matter fraction, number of leaves, leaf area and plant height have increased up to 10 mol m-2 d-1 and decreased from this value. The tector trichomes density increased with increased light availability, but there was no effect of light treatments on the glandular trichomes density and essential oil content. Regardless of the light level, the major component of the essential oil was eugenol. The essential oil yield per plant increased linearly with light intensity as a direct effect of increased leaf biomass under similar conditions.

Yield and Composition of the Essential Oil of Ocimum selloi Benth. Cultivated Under Colored Netting

Abstract The objective of the present work was to determine the effects of colored shading on the density of glandular and tectorial trichomes, and on the yield, productivity and composition of the essential oil of Ocimum selloi Benth. Plants were cultivated for 90 days under full sunlight or under ChromatiNet 50% red or blue netting. The highest density of glandular trichomes was observed in plants that had received full sunlight. None of the light treatments ailtered the yield of oil, although productivity was higher in plants grown under full sunlight by virtue of the greater leaf biomass that accumulated under such conditions. The compositions of the oils varied according to the quality of light. Although the qualitative profiles of the oils of plants grown under full sunlight or red shading were similar, that obtained from plants grown under blue shading presented a larger number of constituents. The highest level of methyl chavicol (93.2%), the major component of the oil, was observed in plants grown under full sunlight.

Produção de biomassa e óleo essencial de elixir-paregórico em função do corte das inflorescências e épocas de colheita

Biomass and essential oil production of Ocimum selloi were evaluated, as a result of cutting of inflorescences and harvest times. The experiment was conducted in the field, in randomized blocks, with treatments distributed in a 2 x 8 factorial scheme, corresponding to two management systems (with and without inflorescence cutting) and eight harvest dates (45; 60; 75; 90; 105; 120; 135, and 150 days after seedling transplant), with four replications. Plant height and stems (SDW), leaves (LDW), and inflorescences dry weight (IDW), as well as essential oil content and yield were evaluated. Inflorescence cutting did not interfere with plant height. Intact plants were 51.8 cm tall in average, while those in which inflorescences were cut reached 53.2 cm as average height. Harvest times induced a quadratic plant growth, with the estimate of 65.9 cm as maximum height, to be achieved 139 days after the transplant (DAT). Plants in which inflorescences were cut produced larger SDW (51.8 g plant-1) and LDW (27.9 g plant-1) than intact plants (SDW = 42.4; LDW = 21.3 g plant-1) and, like IDW, SDW and LDW presented quadratic adjustment for the two management systems during the harvesting period. Essential oil content of dry leaves was not affected by management systems, but presented a quadratic answer to harvest times. Nevertheless, the average essential oil yield in plants in which inflorescences were cut was significantly higher (1.60 g plant-1) than in intact plants (1.18 g plant-1). Maximum essential oil yield estimated for plants in which inflorescences were cut was 2.36 g plant-1, to be obtained 135 DAT, while in intact plants, it was estimated to be 1.65 g plant-1, to be reached at 114 DAP.

Lippia alba morphotypes cidreira and melissa exhibit signifi cant differences in leaf characteristics and essential oil profi le

Lippia alba (Mill.) N.E. Br. ex Britton & P. Wilson, Verbenaceae, is widely used in traditional Brazilian medicine for the treatment of abdominal distress. The species exhibits considerable chemical and morphological diversity, and various chemotypes have been characterized. A comparative study of L. alba, has been carried out of the morphoanatomical characteristics of the leaves and the profiles of the essential oils of the morphotypes cidreira and melissa grown in the Medicinal Plant Garden of the Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilheus, Bahia, Brazil. The mean plant height of cidreira was 1.80 m and the stems and branches were fairly erect, while melissa plants were smaller (1.60 m) and presented prostrate stems and branches. Although the leaf of the morphotypes look were similar, the mean values of length, width and area of the leaves of cidreira (respectively, 7.42 cm, 3.32 cm and 17.31 cm2) differed significantly from those of melissa (4.68 cm, 2.35 cm and 7.32 cm2). The morphotypes presented amphistomatic leaves with uniseriate epidermis on both surfaces. The mesophyll was dorsiventral, but in cidreira the palisade parenchyma was biseriate while in melissa it was uniseriate. Simple tector and capitate glandular trichomes were present on the adaxial and abaxial surfaces of the leaf blades of both morphotypes. Six distinct types of glandular trichomes could be distinguished: types I and II were present in both morphotypes, while type III was detected only in cidreira, and types IV to VI were present only in melissa. The two morphotypes also differed with respect to the composition of the essential oil, cidreira produced oil composed mainly of citral, while the oil from melissa was rich in citral, limonene and carvone.

Harvest time and plant age on the content and chemical composition of the essential oil of Alpinia zerumbet

Alpinia zerumbet is an aromatic and medicinal plant rich in essential oil, known as colonia. Essential oils are derived from secondary metabolism and may be a source of raw materials for cosmetic, pharmaceutical, food and perfumery industry. The plant secondary metabolism and biosynthetic activity can vary according to endogenous and exogenous factors to which it is exposed. In this context, in this study we evaluated the influence of harvest time and plant age of Alpinia zerumbet on biomass and essential oil production. For the harvest time experiment the plants of A. zerumbet were harvested at different times (8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 h), using a completely randomized design with four replications. In the plant age experiment the seedlings were propagated by division of rhizomes and grown in a completely randomized design with treatments consisting of four ages (3, 6, 9 and 12 months after transplanting), with seven replications. The extractions of the essential oil were performed by oil hydrodistillation in Clevenger apparatus and chemical analysis by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (CG-MS). There was an effect of harvest time on the essential oil content with the highest value (0.48%) found at 14:33 h with no change in the chemical composition. In relation to plant age, there was a significant increase in aboveground biomass of plants, accompanied by increases in height, number of shoots, and essential oil content and yield. The major compound terpinen-4-ol was present in higher concentrations in plants harvested between six and nine months old.

Pseudocercospora ocimicola leaf spot on Ocimum selloi.

Pseudocercospora ocimicola leaf spot on Ocimum selloi Ocimum selloi is reported for the first time as a host of Pseudocercospora ocimicola. Ocimum selloi Benth. e uma especie medicinal da familia Lamiaceae conhecida popularmente como alfavaquinha, atroveran ou elixir-paregorico. Na medicina caseira, e empregada para o controle de gases intestinais, gastrites, vomitos, tosses, bronquites, gripes, febres e resfriados (Lorenzi & Matos, Plantas medicinais no Brasil: nativas e exoticas cultivadas 2002). Resultados preliminares confirmaram a sua atividade antiespasmodica, analgesica, antiinflamatoria (Vanderlinde et al., Simposio de Plantas Medicinais do Brasil, 1�, 1��4) e o seu efeito como repelente contra mosquitos (Paula et al., Journal of Ethnopharmacology 88: 25�. 200�). Folhas amarelas com manchas foliares foram observadas em plantas de O. selloi cultivadas no Horto de Plantas Medicinais da Universidade Federal de Lavras. Os sintomas caracterizaram-se pela presenca de lesoes foliares castanho-claras isoladas ou coalescentes, dispersas, subcirculares, de bordos irregulares com dimensoes variando de � a 5 mm de diâmetro ocorrendo, principalmente, em folhas maduras situadas ate o terco inferior da planta (Figura 1A). Quanto as caracteristicas morfologicas do fungo, observaramse estromas intraestomaticos (Figura 1E), castanhos, cilindraceos, pseudo-parenquimaticos, irrompentes, 1424 μm de diâmetro. Micelio interno escasso formado de hifas inter e intracelulares. Conidios filiformes, hialinos, 5-� septados, �7-�10 x 2-� μm (Figuras 1B, C e D). Conidioforos subhialinos, septados, geniculados, simples ou ramificados na base, 58-178 μm de comprimento e 2,5-5 μm de diâmetro na parte mediana (Figuras 1B -E). Estas caracteristicas conferem com a descricao da especie P. ocimicola (Petr. & Cif.) Deighton que ja foi descrita sobre Ocimum sp. (Brasil), Marsypianthes chamaedrys (Vahl) Kuntze (Brasil), O. americanum L. (Myanmar), O. basilicum L. (China, Taiwan), O. gratissimum L. (Cuba), O. sanctum L. (Cuba, Myanmar) (Braun & Freire, Cryptogamie Mycologie, 2�:2�5. 2002), O. kilimandscharicum Gurke e O. micranthum Willd. em outros paises como Republica Dominicana, Fiji, India, Nova Zelândia, Taiwan e Vanuatu (Crous & Braun, Mycosphaerella and its anamorphs: 1. Names published in Cercospora and Passalora. 200�). O comprimento dos conidios em O. selloi excede aquele apresentado por F.C. Deighton (Mycological Papers 140:1-168. 1�76). Este e o primeiro relato de P. ocimicola em O. selloi. FIG. 1 – A. Folha de Ocimum selloi com sintomas de Pseudocercospora ocimicola a esquerda e sem sintomas a direita; eletromicrografias de varredura: B. superficie foliar evidenciando celula conidiogenica (cabeca de seta) e conidios (seta); C. conidios; fotomicrografias: D. conidios e E. conidioforos.

Antispasmodic effect of Ocimum selloi essential oil on the guinea-pig ileum

Ocimum selloi is an herbal species popularly used in Brazil as antispasmodic. Herein, we report the antispasmodic effect of O. selloi essential oil (OS) in segments of guinea-pig ileum. OS did not reduce the tonus of the ileum. In contrast, OS reduced the contraction induced by carbachol (100 μM), BaCl2 (0.03 M) and low- and high-K+ concentrations (25 and 60 mM, respectively). OS shifted the concentration–response curve for calcium to the right in a parallel manner. GC/MS analysis showed that OS consists mostly of methyl chavicol (97.57%). These results suggest that OS antispasmodic effect is mediated through calcium channel blockade. In addition, OS effect and mode of action could be accounted for methyl chavicol.