Phytochemical analysis of the hot tea infusion of Hedyosmum brasiliense

Abstract The leaves of the neotropical dioecious shrub Hedyosmum brasiliense (HB) are employed popularly as a sedative, aphrodisiac and as a substitute for green tea. The aim of this work was to study the composition of the hot tea infusion from the fresh leaves of HB, comparing its androecious or gynoecious parts, including the isolation and identification of new secondary metabolites. The characterization of the HB tea infusion was achieved by means of UHPLC–ESI(±)-HRMS and the isolation of its secondary metabolites was done through FCPC and MPLC. Both female and male plant extracts presented similar chemical profiles, with rosmarinic acid (RA) as the main compound. The FCPC analysis led to a one-step isolation of RA 97% pure. A new sesquiterpene lactone (1-α-acetoxyeudesma-3,7(11)–dien–8,12–olide) is reported herein for the first time. The additional compounds isolated and characterized by NMR and LC–MS are isorinic acid, a glycosylated flavonol, two neolignans reported for the first time for HB and three other sesquiterpene lactones which were previously isolated from the ethanol extract. Neither the extract nor its major constituent (RA) exhibited in-vitro antimycobacterial activity.