Identification and quantification of β-caryophyllene in copaiba oil using Raman spectroscopy.

Copaiba oleoresin presents several compounds with known biologic activity and physiologic effects, including analgesic and insecticide properties. Among them are the terpenoids (mainly diterpenes and sesquiterpenes) with β-caryophyllene, the main representative of the terpenoids and considered to be a chemical marker. This study employed Raman spectroscopy and principal component analysis (PCA) techniques to identify and quantify the β-caryophyllene marker in copaiba oil samples purchased from popular markets in Brazil. A dispersive Raman spectrometer (830 nm, 250 mW, 2 cm−1 spectral resolution) was used. Results showed the identification of the main Raman peaks from the β-caryophyllene in copaiba oil samples (main peaks at 507, 771, 1442, 1638, and 1673 cm−1). The loading vector 2 (PC2) extracted the spectral information from β-caryophyllene in the samples and the eigenvalue 2 (score 2) allowed the estimation of the concentration of this marker in commercial samples, with the concentrations from 15 to 34%. Raman spectroscopy combined with PCA may be considered to be a potential analytical tool for the quality control of <italic>Copaifera</italic> oil samples by quantifying β-caryophyllene using its unique spectral information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]