Chemical variability in the essential oils from leaves of Syzygium jambos

Syzygium jambos (L.) Alston, Myrtaceae, occurs in tropical regions and is a widespread medicinal plant used to treat several diseases, such as hemorrhage, dysentery, diabetes, inflammation, diabetes and gastrointestinal disorders. Leaf essential oils of ten specimens of S. jambos collected from two localities of Central Brazilian Cerrado were investigated by GC-MS. Soil and foliar nutrients were analyzed to determine the mineral compositions. The aims of this study was to evaluate the influence of environmental factors on chemical composition of leaf essential oils of S. jambos. Studies on the influence of environmental factors over composition of essential oils are important because they contribute data for its cultivation, harvest and establish parameters to essential oil components. The data were analyzed using stepwise Multiple Regression and Cluster Analysis, and the results suggest that the main factor capable to influence the chemical composition of leaf essential oils was the collection period and the collection site had a minor effect. The results also suggest that the leaf essential oils composition was influenced mainly by foliar nutrients (N, Mn, Co, Fe, S and Mg) and soil nutrients (Na, Al, S and H+Al). The compound with the best model obtained was the (E)-caryophyllene, with a coefficient of determination equal 0.8113.