Contribution to the phytochemical study of Ocotea gardneri (MEISN) MEZ (Lauraceae).

The Lauraceae family consists of approximately 70 genera and 2,500 species, with tropical and subtropical distribution. In Brazil, it comprises 400 species distributed in 25 genera. Among these, we highlight the genus Ocotea, with about 350 species. The present work had as objective to carry out the phytochemical study of Ocotea gardneri (MEISN) MEZ. For this, the botanical material was subjected to extraction, partition and chromatographic methods for isolation of the chemical constituents. The chemical structures of the compounds were determined by spectroscopic methods and comparisons with literature models. Chromatographic fractionation of the dichloromethane phase of Ocotea gardneri resulted in the isolation of triterpene 2,6,10,15,19,23-hexamethyl-2,6,10,14,18,22-tetracosahexene (squalene), 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzaldehyde and the glycosylated steroid sitosterol-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside. From the ethyl acetate phase was isolated the flavone 3, 5, 7, 3',4'-pentahydroxyflavone (quercetin) and two flavonols (-) 2- (3,4-dihydroxyphenyl) -4H-chromene-3,5,7-triol (epicatechin) and (+) 2- (3,4-dihydroxyphenyl) -4H-chromene-3,5,7-triol (catechin). All compounds are being reported for the first time in the species. Ocotea gardneri has been shown to be a promising species due to the variety of isolated chemical compounds.