STUDIES ON THE BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY AND CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS OF BOLAX GUMMIFERA (LAM.) SPRENGEL

Bolax gummifera (Lam.) Sprengel (Family Apiaceae, Subfamily Hydrocotyloidae, Tribu Mulinae) is a plant that grows in the Patagonia and in the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas). The inhabitants of the Falkland Islands, mainly from the countryside, use B. gummifera to treat external wounds.

The methanolic extract showed toxicity to the Artemia salina nauplii (LC₅₀ = 142 μg/ml). Taking into account this result and the fact that no phytochemical study on this species was reported in the literature, the bioassay-guided fractionation was carried out in order to study and isolate the bioactive constituents. The main component isolated from the sodium hydroxide fraction was identified as bornyl-p-hydroxy-trans-cinnamate, whose activity is under investigation.