A chemical survey on the glandular trichome chemistry of different populations of two Brazilian Viguiera species has been performed by the glandular trichome microsampling technique and isocratic HPLC analyses. In all six analysed samples of V. robusta, the furanoheliangolide budlein A and its tiglate and methacrylate isomers were detected as the major compounds. They were accompanied by various constituents in mostly minor or trace amounts. The chemical pattern of all samples was qualitatively very similar, thus featuring V. robusta as a taxon of high "chemoconsistency". In contrast, V. quinqueremis represented an example of "chemodiversity". Although budlein A and its derivatives were present in five of the six analysed populations, other heliangolides and germacrolides co-occurred and partly dominated in quantity. Distinct compound patterns divided the samples of V. quinqueremis into three chemical subgroups.
Asteraceae; Viguiera; sesquiterpene lactones; glandular trichomes
