In this work a Piper hispidinervum specie (long pepper), endemic from the Acre state, was grown in Itajaí Valley in Santa Catarina State, and its adaptation was evaluated in relation to chemical composition of essential oil obtained by traditional hydrodistillation and microwave hydrodistillation. The safrole was identified as the major constituent of the essential oil of this specie, which was used as a measure of evaluation of the adaptation capacity of this plant in the southern Brazil, as the proposal includes the evaluation of the usage of this specie as an alternative source of safrole, replacing Sassafras Cinnamon (Ocotea odorifera), widely explored specie in this region until the 90's decade. The plant samples were obtained from different regions of the Acre state and were cultivated at the experimental station of EPAGRI Itajaí - SC. The essential oil of the leaves provided an average content of safrole between 76.6% and 89.9%. The analysis by GC-FID and GC-MS of the oil with higher safrole content, presented the following relative constitution: safrole (89.93%), α-terpinene (0.35%), (E)-β-ocimene (0.54%), terpinolene (3.10%), valencene (0.21%), (Z)-β-bisabolene (1.70%) and guaiol (0.29%).
essential oil; long pepper; safrole; microwave; Piper hispidinervum
