Seasonal Variation of Oleoresin and Volatiles from Copaifera martii Hayne Growing Wild in the State of Pará, Brazil

Abstract

The oleoresins from Copaifera martii were harvested from September 2003 at one-month intervals up to September 2004, from the same individual tree, and examined by GC/FID and GC/MS. The highest oleoresin per harvest occurred at January 2004 in the dry Amazonian season. The major volatiles of the oleoresin, α-copaene and δ-cadinene, changes from 36.4% to 51.2% and 13.7% to 17.3%, respectively. No appreciable changes were observed on the percentage of the volatile compounds during the seasonal observation, but the percentage of essential oils in the oleoresins also changes considerably (1.3% −21.3%). The amount of oleoresin harvested ranged from 0–100mL. In conclusion, for the specimen of C. martii studied, during the seasonal observation, oleoresin per harvested and the percentage of the essential oil changes considerably during seasonal observation, but the chemical composition were not affected. According our knowledge this is the first reported of the volatiles and seasonal observation from C. martii.

Key Word Index:

• Copaifera martii
• Fabaceae
• α-copaene
• δ-cadinene
• oleoresin