Chemical profile of the essential oil from leaves and fruit of Croton blanchetianus Baill.: a medicinal and aromatic plant endemic to the Brazilian semi-arid region

The aim of this study was to characterize the yield and chemical composition of the essential oils extracted from the leaves and fruit of five Croton blanchetianus Baill. accessions from the Active Germplasm Bank of the Federal University of Sergipe. The essential oils were extracted by the hydrodistillation method and analyzed by GC-MS. The essential oil content ranged from 1.00% to 1.33% in the leaves and from 0.61% to 1.00% in the fruit. The following constituents stood out: α- pinene (3.08-11.71%), limonene (0.00-12.11%), β -phellandrene (0.00-13.89%), 1,8-cineole (0.00-20.38%), terpinolene (0.36-9.90%), δ -elemene (3.24-12.83%), ( E )-caryophyllene (2.16-8.62%), bicyclogermacrene (4.33-15.76%), and spathulenol (4.34-21.89%). A marked difference in chemical composition was observed between the vegetative and reproductive organs: the leaves had a larger proportion of sesquiterpenes, whereas the fruit exhibited predominance of monoterpenes. The compound myrtenyl acetate was detected exclusively in the essential oils extracted from the fruit and is proposed as a potential chemical marker of this organ. Principal component analysis confirmed the metabolic separation between leaves and fruit, reflecting inversely proportional patterns in the production of mono- and sesquiterpenes. The results provide the first report of the chemical composition of the essential oil from the fruit of C. blanchetianus and show metabolic differences between vegetative and reproductive organs, associated with possible ecological and physiological functions. • First report of essential oil composition from Croton blanchetianus fruits. • Leaves rich in sesquiterpenes, while fruits are dominated by monoterpenes. • Myrtenyl acetate identified as a potential chemical marker of the fruits. • PCA reveals a clear metabolic separation between plant organs. • Data support chemotaxonomic and ecological studies of the genus Croton .