New Source of Rutin from the Flowers of Cordia lutea (Boraginaceae)

The native species Cordia lutea, is used in Peru by folk medicine in the treatment of liver diseases such as jaundice and others. From fluid extract of the flowers, flavonoid quercetin-3-O-rhamnoglucoside (rutin) was isolated and identified. The relative purity was assay by HPLC and structural elucidation using 1H and 13C NMR spectral data in comparison with literature. Quercetin-3-O-rhamnoglucoside (rutin), was the major component of the fluid extract obtained from C. lutea flowers, with a relative purity, after crystallization, of 97.55% and 8% yield from the extract. As a conclusion for this investigation, it is important to note, that with the fluid extract from the flowers of C. lutea it is possible the isolation of the flavonoid quercetin-3-O-rhamno glucoside (rutin) with high purity and yield. This compound was not previously described in the flowers of this plant species.

Variability in the Chemical Composition of Essential Oil Derived from Ocimum basilicum L. var. Minimum over Several Months

Ocimum basilicum L. (‘licorice’ variety) is a plant commonly known as albahaca or basil that is used in a variety of industries around the world. The variability in the chemical composition of the essential oil derived from this plant, gathered in different growing months, is reported herein. The aerial parts, those parts exposed to the air, of O. basilicum L. yielded an average of 0.3% ± 0.25% of the essential oil in the four month period of the evaluation. Using GC-MS analysis, 107 components were detected in the essential oil, 102 of them were identified (95.3%) and 15 showed a greater than 1% relative yield. Estragol, at 40.6%, and linalool, at 17.8%, were the most important components of the essential oil. According to the refractive index (1.5230), the essential oil could be classified into the Reunion Type. Based on the relative percentage of the two most important components, estragol and linalool, the essential oil could be classified as European Type 1, and considering the possible chemo type based on the percentage of estragol, the classification corresponded to the BA Type. This is the first time that an evaluation of the changing chemical composition of the essential oil derived from O. basilicum over four consecutive months has been published.