Characterization and standardization of of Copaifera spp. oleoresin

• Grant number: 12/16915-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2012
• End date: December 31, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Pharmacy - Pharmacognosy
• Principal Investigator: Carmen Lucia Queiroga
• Grantee: Paulo Vitor Gonçalves
• Host Institution: Centro Pluridisciplinar de Pesquisas Químicas, Biológicas e Agrícolas (CPQBA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Paulínia , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Copaifera spp. have a great importance to the foresty and traditional folk medicine for producing an exudate called oleoresin, which is extracted in a sustainable manner through a hole in the trunk of the tree "copaiba". Samples of oleoresin from the Amazon region will be analyzed. The oleoresin of Copaifera is easily found on the market of medicinal plants for their wide use and important economic value, but a problem is its adulteration or mixing with other oils. Often the origin of the commercial oil is unknown, the species from which it was obtained, and if there was mixing of different species and or oils. Despite the existence of various studies on oleoresin Copaifera spp. there is still a need for standardization characterization thereof. Through phytochemical methods seek to characterize the samples of oleoresin according to their chemical and physical characteristics. Will be the color of the samples analyzed by UV spectrometry and gas chromatography, high-resolution will try to define the chemical composition, whose characteristics will allow us to find a pattern for quality control and authenticity of the oleoresin.