CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF CUTICULAR WAX FROM LEAVES OF PROTIUM HEBETATUM DALY (BURSERACEAE)

Phytochemical investigation from the hexane extract of the leaves of Protium hebebatum Daly (PHB), collected in the city of Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, allowed the isolation of some chemical constituents using chromatographic methods. Extract was adsorbed onto silica gel and filtered under reduced pressure with 700 mL of petroleum ether, followed by chloroform. From the chloroform fraction the triterpenes alpha and beta-amyrin have been isolated as a binary mixture and their structures established by H-1 and C-13 NMR spectral data. In addition, from the petroleum ether fraction, three hydrocarbons of the long chain alkane class were isolated as a mixture, with hentriacontane (63.24%) being the main constituent. Other compounds have also been identified as ethyl esters of long chain fatty acids identified by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The esters ethyl hexadecanoate (64.33%) and ethyl octadecanoate (17.87%) were the main constituents.