Chemical composition and AChE-BuChE activities of the essential oil of palo santo Bursera graveolens (Kunth) Triana & Planch from Jipijapa, Ecuador

Abstract

This article describes the chemical composition, physical properties and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) activity of stem-distilled essential oil (EO) from Bursera graveolens wood chips, Burseraceae. The plant material was acquired in Quimis (Bosque de Sancán), city of Jipijapa in the province of Manabí, coastal region of Ecuador. Thirty-six components were identified by CG-MS, which represented 98.54% of the volatile oil. The main components were limonene (68.52%) and mentofuran (20.37%). The hydrocarbon monoterpenes constituted the most abundant fractions. The average yield of the EO was 1.26%. Regarding the physical properties of EO, the following values were obtained: relative density (1,029 g/mL), refractive index (1,477) and specific rotation (+4,567). The EO presented IC50 inhibition values of 47.2 and 51.9 μg/mL for the enzymes AChE and BuChE, respectively.