Essential oil composition of three Peperomia species from the Amazon, Brazil.

The essential oils of three species of Peperomia from the Amazon, Brazil, were hydrodistilled and their 96 volatile constituents identified by GC and GC-MS. The main constituents found in the oil of P. macrostachya were epi-alpha-bisabolol (15.9%), caryophyllene oxide (12.9%), myristicin (7.6%), an aromatic compound (6.6%) and limonene (5.4%). The oil of P. pellucida was dominated by dillapiole (55.3%), (E)-caryophyllene (14.3%) and carotol (8.1%). The major volatile found in the oil of P. rotundifolia was decanal (43.3%), probably a fatty acid-derived compound, followed by dihydro-P3-santalol (9.0%), (E)-nerolidol (7.9%) and limonene (7.7%). The aromatic compounds elemicin, myristicin, apiole, dillapiole and safrole identified in these Peperomia species has been found also in Amazon Piper species. The oils and methanol extracts showed high brine shrimp larvicidal activities. The oil of P. rotundifolia (LC50 = 1.9 +/- 0.1 microg/mL) was the more toxic, followed by the extract of P. pellucida (LC50 = 2.4 +/- 0.5 microg/mL) and the oil of P. macrostachya (LC50 = 9.0 +/- 0.4 microg/mL), therefore with important biological properties.