Abstract

The chemical composition of resins from South American native gymnosperms is an interesting but poorly explored field. The investigations in this area include members of the families Cupressaceae, Araucariaceae and Podocarpaceae, among others [1,2]. One of the most important native species in the southern part of our continent is the Cupressaceae Austrocedrus chilensis. It is a dioecious species covering a wide area in both sides of the Cordillera de los Andes, in Chile and Argentina, and it is locally known as “ciprés de cordillera”. The chemical composition of the resin of this species has been described as a mixture of labdane, abietane and isopimarane diterpenes [3]. When resin of female and male trees were separately analyzed, some differences in its profiles were detected. The aim of the study was to evaluate a possible variability in resin profiles of A. chilensis. Single resin drops from different trees were collected in different seasons of the year (spring, summer and winter), including samples from male and female individuals. Resins were analyzed by GC-MS and 1H-NMR techniques. The results were compared by multivariate statistical analysis [4]. The resin profiles showed differences in its composition according to the season of the year. This variability was verified by statistical means. The results also suggested a variation in the relative composition of the resin diterpenes according to the sex of the trees. Acknowledgements: FONDECYT 1120096 and FONDECYT 1085306. V.R.O. thanks the Universidad de Talca for a Doctoral grant. References: [1] Cox RE et al. (2007) Biochem. Syst. Ecol. 35:342–362. [2] Guerra PE et al. (2006) Publicación Técnica 32, CIEFAP, Argentina. pp.1–52. [3] Olate VR et al. (2011) Molecules 16:10653–10667. [4] Olate VR et al. (2014) Molecules 19:6489-6503.