Laurelia sempervirens (Ruiz & Pav.)Tul. - Lauraceae
Chilean Laurel, Chilenischer Lorbeer

Evergreen tree native to Chile, Argentina.

„The leaves of Laurelia sempervirens (Monimiaceae), an endemic Chilean tree known as ‘Laurel’, were used by the Mapuche Amerindians for treating headache and as a diuretic. Intravenous administration of a hydroalcoholic L. sempervirens extract to rats, elicited a hypotensive response of −27.0%±2.0% in the mean blood pressure of normotensive animals at a dose of 5 mg crude extract ± kg body weight. Bioassay-guided isolation of the active ‘Laurel’ metabolites led to the alkaloid laurotetanine as the main hypotensive principle of L. sempervirens leaves.“
[ Hypotensive effect of Laurelia sempervirens (Monimiaceae) on normotensive rats. Schmeda‐Hirschmann, G., Loyola, J. I., Rodríguez, J., & Dutra‐Behrens, M., Phytotherapy Research, Vol.8(1), 1994, 49-51]

Hydrodistillation of L. sempervirens leaves and bark yields 2.79% and 6.26% essential oil, respectively. The main constituents in the leaf oil were safrole (82.41 %) and limonene. „Safrole was also the main constituent in oil from bark (49.71%), and methyl eugenol (18.04%) was the second main constituent, followed by limonene.“
[Bioactivity of essential oils from leaves and bark of Laurelia sempervirens and Drimys winteri against Acyrthosiphon pisum. Zapata, N., Lognay, G., & Smagghe, G., Pest management science, Vol.66(12), 2010, 1324-1331]