Anemia tomentosa var. anthriscifolia is a very aromatic fern with ornamental potential. The major constituent of the volatile fraction of this plant is the triquinane sesquiterpene (-)-9-epi-presilphiperfolan-1-ol, which displays in vitro antibacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In order to investigate the chemical composition of this volatile fraction in relation to their triquinane sesquiterpenes upon in vitro multiplication, the tissue culture of this plant was established. Gametophytes and early sporophytes were successfully developed from spores inoculated in MS medium without growth regulators. Volatiles of both in vitro and wild plants were extracted by simultaneous distillation and extraction (SDE) and analyzed by gas chromatography/flame ionization detector (GC/FID) and GC–mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Twenty-seven constituents were evidenced in the volatiles of the wild plant, accounting for 93.4% of its total composition, whereas only seven constituents accounted for 97.0% of the total composition of the volatiles of the in vitro plants, respectively. The volatiles from the in vitro plants were composed mainly of monoterpenes (79%), whereas those of the wild plants comprised mostly sesquiterpenes (97.5%). The major constituents from in vitro plants are α-pinene (20.7%), trans-pinocarveol (31.0%) and pinocarvone (27.3%), whereas the major constituents from wild plants are silphiperfol-6-ene (11.7%), 9-epi-presilphiperfolan-1-ol (31.3%) and presilphiperfolan-8-ol (21.2%).

During agronomical and chemical studies with Croton cajucara Benth. (Euphorbiaceae), a shrub native to the Amazon area possessing an essential oil rich in linalool, it was observed that some individuals of a germplasm bank produced an oil containing a hydroxylated sesquiterpene as major component (up to 44.3%). Originally misidentified as 5-hydroxycalamenene, the compound was further isolated and properly identified by ¹H and ¹³C NMR as cis-7-hydroxycalamenene. Measured retention indices were 1759 (Ultra-1), 1804 (HP-5), 2212 (FFAP) and 2663 (Carbowax 20M).

The aim of this study was to perform the isolation and characterization of vasodilatory flavonoids from Tapirira guianensis Aubl. (Annacardiaceae) leaves. In this context, ethyl acetate fraction (EA fraction) was obtained and subjected to fractionation batches by HSCCC affording: myricetin 3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (myricitrin, 1); quercetin 3-O-(6”-O-galloyl)-β-D-galactopyranoside (2); quercetin 3-O-α-L-arabinofuranoside (avicularin, 3); and quercetin 3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (quercitrin, 4). Myricitrin (1) induced a relaxation of 56.07 ± 13.04% at 300 μM (P < 0.05; n = 5), indicating that this flavonoid contributes to the vasodilatory activity of EA fraction. In addition, all EA fraction flavonoids were evaluated for their capacity of inhibiting myeloperoxidase activity and flavonoid (2) (IC₅₀ 1.0 ± 0.3 µM) was the strongest peroxidase inhibitor. In conclusion, it was possible to verify that myricitrin together with quercetin are mainly responsible for vasodilatory potential, besides flavonoid 2 for myeloperoxidase inhibition. Together these flavonoids seem to be responsible for Tapirira guianensis cardiovascular effects.