Resumo

DAMASCOS, María Angélica  e  ARRIBERE, María. Mineral content from Aristotelia chilensis (Molina) Stuntz leaves used in phytotherapy. Rev Cubana Plant Med [online]. 2009, vol.14, n.4. ISSN 1028-4796.

INTRODUCTION: mineral content from leaves used in infusions changes according to the maturity level of vegetable parts included or according to the climatic conditions in plant growth area and even may to shows inappropriate concentrations for human consumption. Infusions prepared from maqui leaves, Aristotelia chilensis (Molina) Stuntz are used for medicinal purposes in Argentina and Chile. OBJECTIVES: to study the effect of leaves age (young-mature leaves) and from climatic area (wet-mesic) of plant growth on the mineral content of maqui leaves. METHODS: mineral present in dry samples of young and mature leaves of maqui plants from places with different annual rainfalls in Bariloche, Argentina, were determined by instrumental neutron activation analyses. RESULTS: mature leaves from maqui only differed from the young ones by its lower content of K and higher of Na. Contents of Mg, CI, Ca, Ti and V did not change among the plant leaves from places with a different annual rainfall. Plant leaves from the wet area (1 800-2 200 mm annual) showed more K a less Na that those from mesic area (1 400 mm annual). Mn content varied still among the plants from mesic area. CONCLUSIONS: only the K and Na content changed among the leaves of different age and among the plants present in different climates. There were high Ti contents in foliar samples of plants from mesic zone.

Palavras-chave : foliar mineral content; infusions; Aristotelia chilensis.