Study of Volatile Secondary Metabolites Present in <i>Piper carpunya</i> Leaves and in the Traditional Ecuadorian Beverage Guaviduca

<i>Piper carpunya</i> Ruiz & Pav. is an aromatic shrub native to Ecuador, the leaves of which are used to prepare the traditional beverage Guaviduca. Different health benefits are attributed to the guaviduca beverage, which is consumed as a traditional and folk medicine. In this stud...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Eduardo Valarezo, Jonathan Xavier Rivera, Edgar Coronel, Miguel Andrés Barzallo, James Calva, Luis Cartuche, Miguel Angel Meneses
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-02-01
Series:Plants
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/2/338
Description
Summary:<i>Piper carpunya</i> Ruiz & Pav. is an aromatic shrub native to Ecuador, the leaves of which are used to prepare the traditional beverage Guaviduca. Different health benefits are attributed to the guaviduca beverage, which is consumed as a traditional and folk medicine. In this study, fresh <i>P. carpunya</i> leaves were collected in the winter and summer and subjected to hydrodistillation for the extraction of the essential oil. The guaviduca beverage was prepared by infusion in water and the volatile compounds were isolated by liquid–liquid extraction. Chemical composition and enantioselective analyses were performed by gas chromatography. The antibacterial activity was assayed against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The scavenging radical properties of the essential oil was evaluated by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydryl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) assays. The acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity was measured using the spectrophotometric method. The chemical analysis allowed us to identify more than 98% of the compounds in all samples. The main constituent of the essential oil was 1,8-cineole (25.20 ± 1.31%) in <i>P. carpunya</i> collected in winter and (17.45 ± 2.33%) in <i>P. carpunya</i> collected in summer, while in the beverage, there was 14 mg/L. Safrole was identified in the essential oil (PCW 21.91 ± 2.79%; PCS 13.18 ± 1.72%) as well as in the beverage (2.43 ± 0.12 mg/L). Enantioselective analysis was used to investigate the enantiomeric ratio and excess of four chiral components. The essential oil presented a strong activity against <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i> with a MIC of 500 μg/mL and a very strong anticholinesterase activity with an IC<sub>50</sub> of 36.42 ± 1.15 µg/mL.
ISSN:2223-7747