Effect of the natural and artificial drying of leaf biomass Piper hispidinervum on the chemical composition of the essential oil

Abstract

Piper hispidinervum C.DC. is a plant native to the Amazon region, produces an essential oil rich in safrole. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different methods of drying biomass in chemical composition of the essential oil of P. hispidinervum cultivated in Morretes (PR). The treatments were: fresh leaves; natural drying for 6 and 12 days; oven drying at 40°C for 6 and 12 days. The essential oil was extracted by hydrodistillation from samples of 50 g of each treatment in triplicate. The chemical composition of essential oil was performed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometer (GC/ MS). The experimental design was completely randomized design with three replication and four plants per plot. Data were subjected to analysis of variance. The type and drying time changes the chemical composition of the essential oil of P. hispidinervum. The dried at 40°C for 12 days reduce the amount of essential oil components, but with increasing content of safrole.