Morfotipo e quimiotipo : existe correlação em Egletes viscosa (L.) Less?

Abstract

Egletes viscosa is an Asteraceae species, plant family that is known for its great economic interest mainly for its potential for drug extraction. This species is used for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. Two chemotypes of Egletes viscosa are distinguishable by their contens of trans- pinocarveyl and cis-isopinocarveyl acetate. There are also leaf morphotypes characterized as pinnatifid, pinnatipartite and intermediate category between them, which may be related to differences between the levels of monoterpenes. The objective from this study was to identify morphological characteristics that differentiate these morphotypes, correlating such morphotypes to chemotypes in Egletes viscosa, which would make the extraction processes of these compounds less costly. Morphoanatomical characteristics of leaves and flowers were evaluated, and the characters analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA), aiming to group individuals by correlating their morphological characteristics with chemotypes. It was not possible to correlate the chemotypes with the leaf characteristic as the groups overlapped. However, when characteristics of the flower capitula were analyzed, it was possible to distinguish two groups which were correlated with the chemotypes. The presence of specific glandular trichomes in the ray and disc flowers are indications of the plant's chemotype. However, they cannot be analyzed in isolation, as the species show great variation.