Mineral Composition Characterization of Aerial Parts of Cecropia Pachystachya According to Geographical Origin?

RINALDI, D. S.; HIDALGO, M.; PETENATTI, E.; MARCHEVSKY, E.; PELLERANO, R.

Mendoza

Congreso; XXXI Reunión Anual Sociedad Biologia de Cuyo,; 2013

SOCIEDAD DE BIOLOGIA DE CUYO

Mineral Composition Characterization of Aerial Parts of Cecropia Pachystachya According to Geographical Origin; Rinaldi D., Hidalgo M., Petenatti E., Marchevsky E., Pellerano R.; XXXI Reunión Anual Sociedad Biologia de Cuyo, Noviembre 2013, Mendoza. Argentina is rich in useful plant species as a result of its vast biodiversity. However, the intense destruction of Argentina´s floristically rich native ecosystems through the slashing and burning of fields for cattle pastures or, for soybean cultivation, has led to a gradual loss of medicinal species. This situation highlights the importance of recovering information regarding the traditional uses of plants to evaluate their potential and promote the adequate exploration and conservation of these species. Cecropia pachystachya is a native tree, it is known commonly as ?ambay?. In our country grows wild in the provinces of Chaco, Corrientes, Misiones, Formosa and Santa Fe. This plant is used since centuries, e.g. as expectorant, sedative and hypoglycemic. The aim of this work was to determine mineral contents (Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, and Zn) in aerial parts of C. pachystachya from three provinces (Chaco, Corrientes, and Misiones) in Argentina by ICP-OES. The obtained results were analyzed by multivariate techniques (Discriminant analysis). Our results indicated that the samples may be classified according to geographical origin by using the concentrations of all determined elements. The leave-one-out cross-validation method was used to test the prediction ability of the proposed classification model (93.3%).