LEAF ESSENTIAL OILS OF 3 PANAMANIAN PIPER SPECIES

The chemical composition of the leaf essential oils of Piper arboreum, P. funbriulatum and P. obliquum were analyzed by a combination of GC- FID, GC-mass spectrometry and C-13 NMR methods. The main constituents found in the oil of P. arboreum were delta-cadinene, alpha-copaene and beta-pinene; in the oil of P. fumbriulatum, beta-caryophyllene and th e oxygenated monoterpenes linalol and its acetate; and beta-caryophyll ene, spathulenol and caryophyllene oxide in that of P. obliquum. A few uncommon sesquiterpenes not previously characterized in Piper species were also identified, namely, 1,5-epoxysalvial-4(14)-ene in P. obliqu um, as well as alpha- and beta-selinene in P. fumbriulatum. (C) 1998 E lsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.