Chemical composition and biological action of the Ruta graveolens L. and Ambrosia arborescens: sociocultural incidence

Abstract

The study analyzed the biological activity of the secondary metabolites in the fresh plant and the chemical composition of the essential oil of Ruta graveolens L. and Ambrosia arborescens with pharmacological and medicinal properties. Phytochemical screening was applied using the qualitative analytical method and techniques that identify the organic substance by color change and precipitation.; and the chemical identification of essential oil components by gas chromatography/mass spectrometer (GC/MS). In Ruta graveolens L. secondary metabolites stand out: alkaloids, tannins, coumarins as well as saponins and flavonoids; and, in Ambrosia arborescens predominate triterpenes, a, ß-hydroxylated quinones and anthraquinones. These last components are important for biological use, pharmacological, conventional medicine and traditional and ancestral medicine. The analysis of the essential oil of Ruta graveolens showed the presence of 21 components, highlighting undecanone (39.97/%) and nonanone (38.05%) with pharmacological properties such as anti-inflammatory, fungicide and herbicide; while the essential oil of Ambrosia arborescens presented 25 compounds, highlighting zingiberene, <α-> (55%) and shyobunol, (6.04%) of biological and ethnobotanical action and as a bactericide and anthelmintic. Plants and essential oils, due to their composition, biological activity and ancestral bond, are resources that benefit and invigorate the people’s culture.