Chemical constituents from the red alga Plocamium brasiliense (Greville) M. Howe and W.R. Taylor Marcelo Augusto Vasconcelos a , Wilton Jose ´ Ferreira b , Renato Crespo Pereira a , Diana Negra ˜o Cavalcanti a , Vale ´ria Laneuville Teixeira a, * a Programa de Po ´s-Graduaça ˜o em Biologia Marinha, Departamento de Biologia Marinha, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal Fluminense, P.O. Box 100.644, Nitero ´i, 24001-970, RJ, Brazil b Programa de Po ´s-Graduaça ˜o em Quı ´mica, Instituto de Quı ´mica, Universidade Federal Fluminense, CEP 24020-141, Nitero ´i, RJ, Brazil article info Article history: Received 9 September 2009 Accepted 29 December 2009 Keywords: Chemotaxonomy Halogenated monoterpenes Plocamium brasiliense Rhodophyceae Ecotypes 1. Subject and source This study investigates the CH 2 Cl 2 extract of Plocamium brasiliense collected in Praia Rasa and Praia do Forno, Armaça ˜o de Bu ´ zios, in the north of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, in November 2005. In the Rio de Janeiro coast, P. brasiliense present two ecotypes (A and B). Specimens from Praia Rasa presented flexible, high thallus with a large number of branches (ecotype A) while in Praia do Forno, the algae are more rigid, taller and less branched (ecotype B). The voucher specimens (HRJ 10331-32) were deposited in the Herbarium, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. 2. Previous work There are no reports on chemical constituents of P. brasiliense. 3. Present study The current paper presents a comparison between the chemical constituents of the two ecotypes of the red alga P. bra- siliense collected in Buzios, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, using the HRGC-MS, TLC and NMR combined techniques. The HRGC- MS, TLC and 1 H NMR data confirmed that the two ecotypes of P. brasiliense produced the same halogenated monoterpenes. Nonetheless, the sample of Praia Rasa showed a halogenated monoterpene representing more than 59% of the total * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ55 21 26292296; fax:þ55 21 26292292. E-mail address: valerialaneuville@gmail.com (V.L. Teixeira). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Biochemical Systematics and Ecology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/biochemsyseco 0305-1978/$ – see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.bse.2009.12.031 Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 38 (2010) 119–121