Evaluation of the essential oil and tea produced from Baccharis myriocephala leaves

ABSTRACT

Baccharis myriocephala is a carqueja species less studied than other Baccharis species. This study evaluated the chemical composition, toxicological and antioxidant potentials of the essential oils and infusions of B. myriocephala. Essential oils (hydrodistillation) and the volatile fractions of infusions (SPE) were analyzed by chromatographic techniques. The TPC and TFC of the infusions, and the antioxidant activities of essential oils and infusions were measured by spectrophotometry; their toxicological potentials were evaluated by Artemia salina bioassay (ASB). Twenty-eight terpenic compounds were identified in the essential oils, fourteen of them for the first time. Nine compounds were identified in the volatile fraction of the infusions, and seven of them were absent in essential oils. Infusions [IC_50(DPPH) = 2.21 mg mL⁻¹] are better antioxidants than the essential oils [IC_50(DPPH) = 40.37 mg mL⁻¹]. The essential oils were considered highly cytotoxic (LD_{50 =} 26.64 μg mL⁻¹), according to the ASB.

KEYWORDS:

• Baccharis myriocephala
• essential oils
• infusions
• volatile fraction
• antioxidant activity
• toxicological potential

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial support of FAPERJ, CNPq, CAPES and UNIRIO. Additionally, GH acknowledges the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development – CNPq for the research productivity grant (314590/2020-0). We thank Mrs. Vera Fróes Fernandes, who provided the Baccharis myriocephla in natura samples.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico [314590/2020-0]; Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior; Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro.