LEAF PHYTOCHEMISTRY OF JUSTICIA NODICAULIS (NEES) LEONARD (ACANTHACEAE) OCCURRING IN CERRADO GOIANO

Abstract

THE ACANTHACEAE FAMILY HAS AN AVERAGE OF 240 GENERA AND 3,240 SPECIES DISTRIBUTED IN A PANTROPICAL WAY, AMONG THIS FAMILY, THE GENUS JUSTICIA, DIFFERS BY BEING THE LARGEST, WITH 900 REGISTERED SPECIES. IN POPULAR MEDICINE, THROUGH ETHNOBOTANICAL AND PHYTOCHEMICAL RECORDS, IT CAN BE IDENTIFIED THAT THIS GENUS CONTRIBUTES ABUNDANTLY IN THE USE AMONG POPULATIONS AND HAS A GREAT ETHNOBOTANICAL INTEREST, AMONG THE MOST COMMON PHYTOCHEMICALS IN THE GENUS JUSTICIA, THE PRESENCE OF LIGNANS, FLAVONOIDS, TERPENOIDS AND ALKALOIDS, WHICH ARE OF GREAT IMPORTANCE IN PHARMACOLOGY, THE SPECIES JUSTICIA NODICAULIS (NEES) LEONARD, ENCOMPASSES ITS DISTRIBUTION IN THE CERRADO OF GOI�S, HAVING PREDOMINANTLY OPPOSITE, SIMPLE, LANCEOLATE LEAVES AND WAVY MARGINS. IN THIS STUDY, THE OBJECTIVE WAS TO OBSERVE AND RECORD THE MAIN CLASSES OF SECONDARY METABOLITES OF THE LEAF STRUCTURES OF THE SPECIES JUSTICIA NODICAULIS OCCURRING IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION AREA AT THE EXPERIMENTAL UNIT OF THE CENTRO UNIVERSITÁRIO DE ANÁPOLIS - GO, THUS PROPOSING A RECORD CONTRIBUTION TO THE RESEARCH OF FAMILY ACANTHACEAE, WITH REGARD TO THE COLLECTION METHODOLOGY, PORTIONS OF YOUNG LEAVES (SMALLER SIZE RATIO) AND ADULTS (LARGER SIZE RATIO) WERE GATHERED, PREFERABLY BEING EXTRACTED DESCENDING FROM THE THIRD NODE, IDENTIFIED JUST BELOW THE END OF THE SPECIMEN, SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED FROM 10 SPECIMENS OF J. NODICAULIS IN EACH GROUP ALONG THE STREAM IN THE EXPERIMENTAL AREA OF THE CENTRO UNIVERSITÁRIO DE ANÁPOLIS. MATERIALS THAT WERE ACQUIRED WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF CARRYING OUT THE PHYTOCHEMICAL PROSPECTION, AS WELL AS THE SURVEY OF ESSENTIAL OILS, THE LEAVES WERE AIR-DRIED FOR SEVEN DAYS UNTIL CONSTANT WEIGHT. TO OBTAIN A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE MOST COMMON SECONDARY METABOLITES IN THE SPECIES, METHODOLOGIES DESCRIBED IN THE PHYTOCHEMICAL SCIENCE LITERATURE WERE USED. AMONG THE RESULTS, COUMARINS, TANNINS, ANTHRAQUINONE HETEROSIDES, FLAVONOIDS, CARDIOACTIVES AND SAPONINS WERE OBTAINED IN YOUNG AND ADULT LEAVES. AMONG THE SURVEY OF ESSENTIAL OILS, 49 MORE FREQUENT MEMBERS OF THE ANALYZED LITERATURE WERE OBTAINED. THE ETHNOBOTANICAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE OF THIS GENUS IS INCALCULABLE, THIS STUDY WILL CONTRIBUTE TO FUTURE RESEARCH, IN VIEW OF THE ABUNDANCE OF THE GENUS JUSTICIA IN THE CERRADO OF GOI�S, IT WILL STILL BE NECESSARY PHARMACOLOGICAL ANALYZES OF THE OTHER SPECIES FOR A COMPLETE SURVEY OF THE MEDICINAL IMPORTANCE.