Abstract

Palicourea rigida HBK, known as “douradinha”, “bate-caixa” and “douradão” is endemic to Brazilian Cerrado and belongs to the Rubiaceae family. The aqueous and hydroalcoholic extracts of P. rigida have been traditionally used in the treatment of urinary tract disorders. The aim of this work was to study the chemical diversity of eight populations of P. rigidanative to Brazilian Cerrado regions in the states of São Paulo, Goiás and Minas Gerais. The loganin quantification was performed by (High-performance liquid chromatography) HPLC and the correlation among iridoid contents and geographic (latitude, longitude and altitude), biotic (diameter and height) and abiotic (soil’s macro and micronutrient) factors was estimated using Pearson's correlation coefficient. The concentration of loganin varied (20.09 to 101.63 mg/ g d.w.) among and within populations. The main factors related to this divergence were latitude, longitude and nutrient-poor soils.

Key words: Medicinal plant, iridoid, Cerrado, Rubiaceae.