Leaf volatile oils from four BrazilianXylopia species

The leaf oils of Xylopia aromatica, X. cayennensis, X. emarginata and X. nitida were obtained by hydrodistillation and analysed by GC-MS. The main compounds found in the oil of X. aromatica were bicyclogermacrene (36.5%), spathulenol (20.5%) and limonene (4.6%). The oil from X. cayennensis was dominated by α-pinene (29.2%), β-pinene (16.5%), caryophyllene oxide (14.5%), bicyclogermacrene (14.5%), germacrene D (4.7%) and 1,8-cineole (4.5%). The major constituent identified in the oil of X. emarginata was spathulenol (73.0%). The main components found in the oil of X. nitida were γ-terpinene (44.1%), p-cymene (13.7%), α-terpinene (12.6%) and limonene (11.3%). Early papers indicated that spathulenol and caryophyllene oxide are also important volatile compounds found in the leaf oils of Xylopia, Duguetia and Guatteria species. At first sight they could be considered as chemotaxonomic markers to these Annonaceae genera. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.