Myrcia paivae O.Berg (Myrtaceae) Essential Oil, First Study of the Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Potential

The Myrtaceae family is one of the most representative in the Amazon. Several species have high added-value pharmacological potential. In order to contribute to the knowledge of the aromatic profile of Myrtaceae species from the Amazon, the present study presents the first report on the productivity, chemical composition, and antioxidant profile of the essential oil (EO) of Myrcia paivae. Dry leaves of the species were submitted to hydrodistillation to obtain their EO. The EO performance was calculated on a moisture-free basis and the analysis of the chemical profile was carried out by GC/MS. The determination of the antioxidant capacity was assessed by means of the antioxidant capacity equivalent to the inhibition Trolox of the ABTS(center dot+) and DPPH center dot radicals. The results indicate that EO performance was equivalent to 1.69%. As for the chemical composition, hydrocarbon monoterpenes were predominant in the sample (>77%); terpinolene (14.70%), alpha-phellandrene (14.69%), gamma-terpinene (9.64%), sylvestrene (7.62%), alpha-thujene (6.46%), and alpha-pinene (6.39%) were the constituents with higher content. Regarding the antioxidant capacity, the results show that the EO presented good results in the inhibition of ABTS(center dot+) (0.886 +/- 0.226 mM L-1) and DPPH center dot (2.90 +/- 0.083 mM L-1), which can be attributed to the high monoterpene content in the sample.

Automated summary

This study reports the productivity, chemical composition, and antioxidant profile of the essential oil of Myrcia paivae, a species from the Myrtaceae family in the Amazon. The essential oil showed a production rate of 1.69% and predominantly consisted of hydrocarbon monoterpenes. It exhibited good antioxidant capacity, attributed to its high monoterpene content.