O gênero ocimum no estado do Pará: ocorrência, usos e perfil químico dos óleos essenciais

Abstract

Several species of the genus Ocimum contain important components in their essential oils for the perfumery, food and herbal medicine industries. In order to contribute to the scientific knowledge about these species, samples of the species cultivated in Pará were collected, their essential oil was analyzed, and technical sheets containing data from the literature were organized. The samples were obtained from vegetable gardens, fairs in Belém and other places. The oils were obtained by hydrodistillation in a Clevenger glass system. The chemical composition was obtained by GC and GC/MS, using a DB-5MS silica capillary column. It was observed the occurrence in Pará of 10 species of Ocimum, of which 07 are cultivated and marketed: O. americanum, O. cf. basi/icum, O. campechianum, O. cf. x citriodorum, O. gratissimum, O. micranthum and O. minimum. The main suppliers are from the municipalities of Ananindeua, Marituba, Igarapé-Mirim and Barcarena. The species that presented the highest oil yield were O. gratissimum (alfavacão), O. micranthum (estoraque), and O. campechianum (alfavaca). The chemical composition of some species varied considerably: O. americanum fenchone type and (E)-type methyl cinnamate were detected. The oil of O. campechianum also showed different compositions: eugenol type, and methyleugenol type. Two types of O. gratissimum oil were also detected: thymol/g-terpinene type and 1,8-cineol/p-cymene type. The main components of the oils of Ocimum cf. basilicum, O. cf. x citriodorum and O. minimum were methylchavicol and linalool. The oil from O. micranthum obtained from gardens and markets showed a stable composition rich in methyl (E)-cinnamate, an important component for perfumery. The data obtained highlighted the need for further research with the species of the genus Ocimum that occur in Pará.