Phytochemical investigation on leaves of Cordia salicifolia Cham. (Fam. Boraginaceae)

Cordia salicifolia Cham. (Fam. Boraginaceae) (sin. C. ecalyculata Vell.), also known with several common names such „porangaba“ „chá de bugre“ or „café do mato“ is a small tree growing 8–12 meters in height with a trunk 30–40cm in diameter, having as peculiar feature the production of red fruits resembling a coffee bean, which are roasted and brewed into tea as a coffee substitute. It is indigenous in Brazil but can be found also in tropical forest areas of Argentina and Paraguay. C. salicifolia is largely used in the ethnomedical traditions of Brazilian people, in particular in Minas Gerais, Bahia, Acre and Goias regions. Extracts of this plant are commercialized in Brazil as diuretic, appetite suppressant and weight loss products [1]. in the present communication we wish to report results obtained on the qualitative and quantitative analysis of some secondary metabolites extracted from leaves of C. salicifolia. Finely powdered dried leaves (100g) were exhaustively extracted by maceration with dichloromethane for 24h. After evaporation of the solvent under vacuum, the brown syrup obtained was purified by SiO₂ gel column chromatography using dichloromethane as eluent. The major components found in the leaves extract were (+)-spathulenol (0.53%) and β-sitosterol (0.24%), that were identified by comparison with commercially available samples. (+)-Spathulenol exhibited a very weak activity as inhibitor of growth of Helicobacter pylory (strain DSMZ 4867, originated from human gastric samples in vitro (MIC=200µg/mL).

Acknowledgements: Regione Abruzzo (L.R. 35/97) Project 'Tutela della Biodiversita', University „G. d'Annunzio“, Ufficio Relazioni Internazionali“.

References: [1] Cruz, G.L. (1994) Dicionário das plantas úteis do Brasil, 5 ed. Bertrdand. Rio de Janeiro.