Estudio por CG-EM de los componentes volátiles de las hojas de Petiveria alliacea L.

Abstract

Plants are an important source for obtaining medicines and nutritional supplements. Petiveria alliacea Linn is a herbaceous plant belonging to the Phytolaccaceae family that is popularly known in Cuba as anamú.1 The increase in the use and study of this species is due to the fact that both its different extracts and the dry drug have shown immunomodulatory, anticancer effects , antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, hypoglycemic, antibacterial and antifungal agents.2-5 Although most of the studies carried out in Cuba have focused on the demonstration of pharmacological properties, 2-4 there are still no studies on the chemical composition of the different parts of this plant.1,6 Such antecedents support the interest of identifying some of its potential active components, such as organosulfur compounds, benzaldehyde and others detected in plants growing in other countries.2,5-10 Taking into account the high interest of the pharmaceutical industry and the population for P. alliacea, its abundance in Cuba and the absence of e Studies on its chemical composition, the objective of this work was the determination by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) of the volatile components present in the leaves of this plant.