PARTE UTILIZADA= Used part: Frutos y corteza.

ACCIÓN FARMACOLÓGICA= Pharmacological action: Astringente en las diarreas y hemorragias, anti-hemorroides, contra la grieta de los senos.

COMPOSICIÓN QUÍMICA= Chemical composition: Gálbulos: Contienen aceite esencial (0,2-1%) constituídos fundamentalmente por nionoterpenos (alfa-pineno, delta-3-careno), sesquiterpenos (alfa-cedreno, delta-cadineno), canceno, cedrol o alcanfor de ciprés (7%), manool, sempervirol, etc. También se identificaron ácido neocuprésico, proantocianidoles del grupo B, dímeros flavónicos derivados del catecol y epicatecol, taninos catéquicos (3-5%), ácido glicérico, ácido glicólico, etc. Hojas: flavonoides (amentoflavona, cupresuflavona). Brotes tiernos: aceite esencial (0,2%) rico en pineno, canfeno, terpineol y cedrol.

ZONA GEOGRÁFICA= Geografical zone: Uruguay. 

DIVERSIDAD GENÉTICA Y MEJORAMIENTO DE PLANTAS MEDICINALES= Medicinal plants and improvement of medicinal herbs:

After recent changes to the taxonomy of the Botryosphaeriaceae species with diplodia-like (= dark, ovoid, often pigmented) conidia are considered to belong to at least three genera including Diplodia, Lasiodiplodia and Dothiorella. In a recent molecular phylogenetic study it became apparent that two groups of isolates with diplodia-like conidia required taxonomic revision. One group of isolates originated from Cupressus sempervirens in Greece and Cyprus and had been identified as D. pinea f. sp. cupressi based on morphological characteristics. The other isolates originated from a Casuarina sp. in Australia and were superficially similar to those in the first group based on their morphologically similar diplodia-like conidia. The aim of this study was to resolve the taxonomy of these two groups of isolates by combining the information from the multiple gene genealogies with morphological characters. The results showed that the isolates from C. sempervirens in Greece and Cyprus represent D. cupressi. The isolates from Casuarina in Australia belong to the more distantly related genus Dothiorella and represent a distinct species that is described here as Do. casuarini sp. nov. © 2009 by The Mycological Society of American.

ÚLTIMOS AVANCES EN LA QUÍMICA Y ACTIVIDADES BACTERIOLÓGICAS EN LAS PLANTAS MEDICINALES= Medicinal plants, last advances on chemistry and bacteria activities on the medicinal herbs

1) The feasibility of using cypress cone chips from Cupressus sempervirens as a low-cost biosorbent for the removal of two representative basic dyes, methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RhB), from aq. solns. was investigated in batch and continuous modes.  Dyes biosorption was strongly dependent on the soln.'s pH.  Sorption kinetics was detd. and properly described by the pseudo-second-order rate model.  Exptl. equil. isotherms fitted the Langmuir model, showing max. biosorption capacities of 0.62 mmol/g for MB and 0.24 mmol/g for RhB.  Competitive expts. from a binary soln. of the dyes demonstrated the preference of the cone chips for biosorbing MB.  Very low desorption efficiencies were obtained for both dyes.  Dynamic expts. showed that the breakthrough time was three times higher for MB biosorption than for RhB for the same conditions.  Breakthrough curves were properly represented by a math. model.

2) The chem. compn. of essential oils isolated from the leaves by steam-distn. of Algerian Juniperus phoenicea L. and Cupressus sempervirens L. were analyzed by GC-MS.  The oils were predominantly composed of monoterpene hydrocarbons (72.9 and 75.7%), with alpha-pinene as major constituent (34.5 and 60.5%).  beta-Phellandrene (22.4%) and alpha-Terpinyl acetate (14.7%) were the second most important constituents of the J. phoenicea oil.  While cedrol (8.3%) was found to be the second most important constituent in the oil of C. sempervirens.  The antimicrobial activity of the essential oils was evaluated against five bacteria (3 Gram-pos. and 2 Gram-neg.), and 3 fungi.  Results showed that the oils exhibited moderate antibacterial and antifungal activities.

3) The volatile components of the cone essential oil and its antimicrobial activity of Cupressus sempervirens Linn was studied.  A total of 22 compds. accounting for 99.12% of the total oil were identified by GC-MS analyses.  The major compds. identified were alpha-cedrol (25.06%), abieta-7-3-diene (18.56%), beta-pinene (14.31%) and terpinene-4-ol (12.09%).  The antimicrobial activity of the essential oil and its cream formulation prepd. by using 2% essential oil was detd. by cup plate method.  The Gram-pos. organisms used were Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus megaterium, Bacillus cogulans and Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-neg. were Escherichia coli, Kleibseilla pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella typhii.  In vitro antifungal studies were carried out using Candida albicans, Aspergillus flavus, Trichoderma lignorum and Cryptococcus neoformans.  The std. drugs used, were Penicillin, Gentamicin and Griseofulvin (100mg/mL) for Gram-pos. bacteria, Gram-neg. bacteria and fungi resp.  Both oil and cream formulation showed significant activity against fungi than bacteria.

Origin:
Native to Asia Minor, Syria and North Persia. The tree is a variety only known in the cultivated state in North-West India. (Chopra RN.)

Action:
Tincture—vasoconstrictor, antiseptic, sedative, antispasmodic, diuretic. Used for cough, cold, bronchitis, varicose veins, piles, menopausal cramps, leg-cramps.
Essential oil—used only externally. Used in aromatherapy for massage
(10 drops in 2 teaspoonful of almond oil).

1) GONZALEZ, Matías ; LOMBARDO, Atilio ; VALLARINO, Aida. Plantas de la medicina vulgar del Uruguay. Montevideo : Talleres Gráficos, 1937, p.43.

2) ALONSO, Jorge R. Tratado de fitomedicina : bases clínicas y farmacológicas. Buenos Aires : ISIS, 1998, p.395-396.

3) DE WET, J., et al. Molecular and morphological characterization of Dothiorella casuarini sp. nov. and other Botryosphaeriaceae with diplodia-like conidia. Mycologia. 2009, vol.101, nº4, p.503-511.
 
4) FERNANDEZ, M. E., et al. Effectiveness of Cupressus sempervirens cones as biosorbent for the removal of basic dyes from aqueous solutions in batch and dynamic modes. Bioresource Technology. 2010, vol.101, nº24, p.9500-9507.
 
5) MAZARI, Khadidja, et al. Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of essential oils isolated from Algerian Juniperus phoenicea L. and Cupressus sempervirens L. Journal of Medicinal Plants Research. 2010, vol.4, nº10, p.959-964.
 
6) MANIMARAN, S., et al. Volatile constituents and antimicrobial activity of cone essential oil and its cream formulation of Cupressus sempervirens Linn. Indian Perfumer. 2008, vol.52, nº4, p.23-27.

7) Khare, C.P./ Indian Medicinal Plants. -- Nueva Dheli: Springer, 2007 . - p. 836.