Sesquiterpenóides de Senecio bonariensis Hook. et Arn.

Abstract

Species belonging to the Asteraceae family are an important source of terpenoids with biological activity. Senecio bonariensis Hook. et Arn., popularly known as margarida-do-banhado-de-Buenos Aires is native from South America and can be found in south Brazil, blooming from October to December. This plant is known for contain furanoeremophylanes, steroids and pyrrolizidines alkaloids (PAs) with toxic activities. This work describes the isolation and identification of three compounds present in the CH2Cl2 extract of the aerial parts of Senecio bonariensis Hook at Arn. Leaves of this plant were collected in Eldorado do Sul, RS, Brazil, in April 2004 and identified by Prof. Dr. Nelson Ivo Matzenbacher. Voucher specimen Nº SMDB 9519 is preserved in the Herbarium of the Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil. The fresh leaves of S. bonariensis (2.3 kg) were extracted by maceration with CH2Cl2. The CH2Cl2 extract was evaporated under vacuum to yield an viscous residue (13.5 g), which gave a yield of 0.64%. The crude extract was fractionated by flash chromatography over silica-gel, using CH2Cl2, and CH2Cl2: EtOH mixture of increasing polarity, (stepwise, 99:1 to 80:20) to yield 15 fractions. The fraction 1 col. 1 (1 g) was chromatographed over silica-gel impregnated with AgNO3 (10%) eluting with hexane-acetone (99:1), to yield 13 news fractions. Fraction 10 col. 2 (253 mg) was chromatographed on silica-gel impregnated with AgNO3 (10%), eluting with hexane: ethyl ether (95:5) and purified to afford 104 mg of CS1 (caryophyllene) and 16 mg of CS2 (caryophyllene oxide). Fraction 11 col. 2 (83.5 mg) was also chromatographed on silica-gel impregnated with AgNO3 (10%), eluting with hexane: ethyl ether (98:2) and purified to afford 5 mg of CS3 (germacrene-D). The compounds obtained were analyzed by GC-EI-MS, IR, 1H and 13C NMR. The antimicrobial activity of CS1 and CS2 were evaluated by the microdilution method based on M27-A2 and M7-A4 (NCCLS). Both compounds sowed no antimicrobial activity at the tested concentrations.