Separation of acid diterpenes of Copaifera cearensis huber ex ducke by flash chromatography

What is it about?

Copaiba oils are exuded from the trunks of trees belonging to the Copaifera genus and can be found in many drugstores in Brazil as a phytotherapeutical oil. The copaiba oils are known from folk medicine due to their antiseptic, antiinflammatory; and antiblenorrhagic properties. Various acid diterpenes of Copaifera cearensis Huber ex Ducke were isolated from the crude extract by flash Silica Gel/Potassium Hydroxide Chromatography. The main components were identified by GC-MS analyses. Further fractionation by reversed phase (RP) semi-preparative HPLC allowed isolation and identification of minor components and provided additional spectral data of those compounds. It was possible to detect the presence of eleven acid diterpenes in addition to a sesquiterpene acid. In addition to potassium hydroxide deposition on the silica surface, the presence of Si-OK residues, resulting from a cation exchange process, was established.

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Photo by Bee Naturalles on Unsplash

Photo by Bee Naturalles on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Copaiba oils are exuded from the trunks of trees belonging to the Copaifera genus and can be found in many drugstores in Brazil as a phytotherapeutical oil. The copaiba oils are known from folk medicine due to their antiseptic, antiinflammatory; and antiblenorrhagic properties. The use of this methodology will make possible the necessary quality control of copaiba oils which are commercially available at several drugstores.

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