Poster: Late and Moved Abstracts

Abs # 1387: Biotechnological development of Anemopsis californica as a medicinal plant

Presenter:	Natividad, Yancey , yycaveman62@yahoo.com
Authors	Natividad, Yancey  (A)   Sias, Sal  (A)   Holguin, Francisco O (A)   Banegas, Matthew P (A)   O'Connell, Mary A (A)
Affiliations:	(A): Dept. Agronomy & Horticulture, New Mexico State University
Web Site:	http://medplant.nmsu.edu/

Anemopsis californica (Nutt) Hook. and Arn. is a member of the family Saururaceae, found in the southwestern United States. Indigenous peoples have used this plant to treat cold, cough and gastro-intestinal problems. A. californica grows in riparian zones of rivers, creeks and fresh water marshes. Representatives of A. californica populations from New Mexico, Arizona, and California were harvested. All samples collected contained roots and rhizomes; in some cases aerial parts were also collected. Comparative studies of the concentration of active compounds in distinct populations of A. californica were performed in order to identify the variability in concentrations between select organs and populations. The analytes were extracted using a supercritical fluid extractor (SFE) with CO₂ as a solvent at a density of 0.725 g/ml. The chemical compositions of these organs were determined using GC/MS and quantified using GC/FID. As expected there were differences in analyte composition based on organs and geographical distribution. Each population had a unique chemical profile; pinene and piperitone were highest in the rhizomes of a Californian population; methyl eugenol was highest in the roots of an Arizonan population, and thymol was highest in the roots of a New Mexican population. The total of all essential oil components, from roots and rhizomes was highest among four different New Mexican populations, suggesting that these populations are best-suited for further development. The use of an SFE as an extraction method has proven superior to reflux in analyte recovery, time of process and reduced sample to sample variability. This work was supported in part by the NM Agricultural Experiment Station and NIH grant GM61222.