Chemical composition of essential oils from the stem barks of Croton conduplicatus (Euphorbiaceae) native to the Caatinga biome

Croton conduplicatus is a species popularly known in the Brazilian Caatinga (semi-arid vegetation) as “quebra faca”. Essential oils from the stem barks of C. conduplicatus were obtained by hydrodistillation after 2, 3 and 4 h of extraction with a very high percentage (95.93, 96.69 and 98.45%, respectively) of identified total components present in crude essential oils. Analyses were made by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The most abundant constituents were α-pinene, β-pinene, camphor and (E)-caryophyllene. The occurrence of α-pinene and β-pinene has been reported in essential oils of several other species of Croton, indicating that this species is typically of the Euphorbiaceae family. Key words: Croton conduplicatus, essential oil, volatile constituents, medicinal plants, Caatinga.