The production of essential oils from the species of the Brazilian native forests is still low, even thought its high biodiversity. Specifically for the Brazilian Savannah, a few species has been studied so far, then the research effort concerning essential oil should be raised. This paper aimed at evaluating the potential of some species from the Brazilian Savannah to produce essential oil by calculating the yield and determining the preliminary chemical composition. Leaves from Baccharis sp., Blepharocalyx salicifolius, Psidium myrsinites and Protium ovatum were collected at Fazenda Água Limpa, the ecologic experimental area of the University of Brasília. The essential oil from the material was extracted by steam distillation for 90 minutes, using laboratory distillatory equipment. The fresh distillate was collected and the essential oil was separated from the hydrosol by using a solvent. The preliminary chemical composition of the essential oils was determined by TLC (thin layer chromatography) and ¹H and 13C Nuclear Magnetic Ressonance (NMR) and Infrared (IR) analyses. According to the results the essential oil yield of Baccharis sp., Blepharocalyx salicifolius, Psidium myrsinites and Protium ovatum was 0.06%, 0.12%, 0.10% and 0.13%, respectively. The observed yield values can be considered suitable for maintaining the research efforts. Chemical analysis showed that the essential oils obtained are composed by a complex mixture of compounds which should be studied more deeply.
Non-wood forest products; Blepharocalyx salicifolius; Psidium myrsinites