Pimenta pseudocaryophyllus (Gomes) L. R. Landrum (Myrtaceae): stem and leaf anatomy of a medicinal plant

The study of medicinal plants involves several areas of science. Anatomy contributes to species identification and consequently, with quality control of plant product. This paper describes the leaf and stem anatomy of Pimenta pseudocaryophyllus (Gomes) L.R. Landrum (Myrtaceae), collected in Seasonal Semideciduous Forest. The studied organs presented uniseriate epidermis covered by a thick cuticle and secretory cavities. The stem showed a continuous ring of vascular tissues around the pith, with phloem on both sides of the xylem. The leaf was hypostomatic, with trichomes on the abaxial face, with bifacial mesophyll and amphicrival vascular bundle, surrounded by a sclerenchymatous pericycle in the petiole and in the midrib. Among the histochemical tests, positive results were obtained for lipids, phenolic compounds, starch and calcium oxalate (druses). The species had anatomical features typical of the family and the secretory cavities present in leaves and stems were related to the secondary metabolites detected.O estudo de plantas medicinais envolve várias áreas da ciência. Neste contexto, a anatomia contribui para a identificação da espécie e consequentemente, com a qualidade do produto da planta. Este trabalho descreve a anatomia do caule e da folha de Pimenta pseudocaryophyllus (Gomes) L.R. Landrum (Myrtaceae), coletada em Floresta Estacional Semidecidual. Os órgãos estudados apresentaram epiderme unisseriada, recoberta com cutícula espessa, e cavidades secretoras. O caule apresentou anel contínuo de tecido vascular ao redor da medula, com o floema em ambos os lados do xilema. A folha foi hipoestomática com tricomas na face abaxial, com mesofilo bifacial e feixe vascular anficrival circundado por periciclo esclerenquimático no pecíolo e na nervura principal. Entre os testes histoquímicos, resultados positivos foram obtidos para lipídeos, compostos fenólicos, amido e oxalato de cálcio (drusas). A espécie apresentou aspectos anatômicos típicos da família e as cavidades secretoras presentes nas folhas foram relacionadas aos compostos secundários detectadosConselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico(CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Antimicrobial activity of essential oils from Pimenta pseudocaryophyllus and Tynanthus micranthus

The present study describes the chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation from the leaves of Pimenta pseudocaryophyllus (1.0% w/w) and Tynanthus micranthus (1.1% w/w). GC and GC/MS analysis demonstrated that eugenol was the only component in the T. micranthus essential oil (99.9%) and the major component in the P. pseudocaryophyllus essential oil (92.59%), which also presented methyleugenol, terpinen-4-ol, o-cymene and (E)-caryophyllene, among others. Both the oils presented antimicrobial activity against bacteria, yeast and filamentous fungi tested.The Bioautography test revealed that eugenol was the bioactive component in both the oils against Cladosporium herbarum. This is the first report about the T. micranthus essential oil, and the antifungal activity of P. pseudocaryophyllus. The results confirmed the potential of eugenol-rich essential oils not only as a source of flavor compounds, but also of use as antimicrobial agent in agriculture and in pharmaceutical and food products

Trypanocidal activity of the compounds present in Aniba canelilla oil against Trypanosoma evansi and its effects on viability of lymphocytes

Aniba canelilla (H.B.K.) Mez, popularly known as “casca-preciosa” (precious bark), is a plant of the Lauraceae family, widely distributed in the Amazon region. Its major constituent is 1-nitro-2-phenylethane, a rare molecule in plants which is responsible for this plant's cinnamon scent. The present study aimed to report the chemical characterization of the oil extracted from Aniba canelilla using gas-chromatography/mass spectrometry and to assess its in vitro trypanocidal activity against Trypanosoma evansi, a prevalent haemoflagellate parasite that affects a broad range of mammal species in Africa, Asia and South America. The oil presented 1-nitro-2-phenylethane (83.68%) and methyleugenol (14.83%) as the two major components. The essential oil as well as both major compounds were shown to exert trypanocidal effect. Methyleugenol was slightly more active than 1-nitro-2-phenylethane. In vitro studies showed that the oil extracted from the stems of A. canelilla may be regarded as a potential natural treatment for trypanosomosis, once proven their in vivo action, may be an interesting alternative in the treatment of infected animals with T. evansi. © 2016 Elsevier Lt