Anja Looman

Essential oils from Azorean Laurus azorica.

The essential oils isolated from leaves of ten and from unripe berries of eight populations of Laurus azorica (Seub.) Franco, collected on five islands of the Azorean archipelago, were analysed by GC and GC-MS. All oil samples were dominated by their monoterpene fraction (60-94%), alpha-pinene (15-37%) and 1,8-cineole (12-31%) being the main components of the leaf oils, while trans-beta-ocimene (27-45%) and alpha-pinene (12-22%) were the main components of the oils from the berries. The sesquiterpene fractions of the oils ranged from 3 to 17% and the main components were beta-caryophyllene (traces-8%) and beta-elemene (traces-3%) both in the leaf and berry oils. Some phenylpropanoid components were also present, in total amounting to 17%, trans-cinnamyl acetate (215% of the leaf oils) being the main component of this fraction. Cluster analysis of the enantiomeric composition of alpha- and beta-pinene in the oils from the leaves clearly showed two groups, one constituted by the two populations growing on the island S. Jorge, and the other constituted by the remaining populations.

Composition of the essential oil of Chaerophyllum azoricum Trel., an endemic species of the Azores archipelago

The composition of the essential oils isolated from leaves and stems collected during the vegetative and the flowering phases of the plant, and from fruits of Chaerophyllum azoricum Trel., an endemic species of the Azores archipelago, was analysed by GC and GC–MS. Each of the three oils was dominated by its monoterpene fraction (82–91%), terpinolene (44–62%) and γ-terpinene (9–31%) being the main oil components. The sesquiterpene fraction occurred in a concentration ranging from 3% to 8% with zingiberene as main component (1–5%). In addition to mono- and sesquiterpenes, the oils contained a significant amount of myristicin (5–9%). Copyright

Essential oils from seven populations of Juniperus brevifolia (Seub.) Antoine, an endemic species of the Azores

The composition of the essential oils isolated from twigs and from unripe berries of seven populations of Juniperus brevifolia (Seub.) Antoine, an endemic species of the Azorean archipelago, was analysed by GC and GC–MS. All oil samples were dominated by their monoterpene fraction (84–94%), limonene (41–79%) and α-pinene (6–40%) being the main oil components. The sesquiterpene fraction occurred in a concentration range of 1–10%. Diterpenes amounted to 6%, sandaracopimara-8(14),15-diene (up to 5%) being the main component of this fraction. Cluster analysis of the essential oils revealed two distinct groups, one from the twigs and the other from the berries. The enantiomeric composition of α-pinene and limonene showed a clear homogeneity between all the oil samples. Copyright

Lavender lactone and other volatile constituents of the oleoresin from seeds of Garcinia kola Heckel

The composition of the volatiles isolated by distillation-extraction from an oleoresin from a commercial sample of seeds of Garcinia kola Heckel grown in Nigeria was analysed by means of GLC, LSC and GC–MS. The volatiles consisted mainly of monoterpenes and degradation products thereof (56%), sesquiterpenes (17%) and diterpenes (5%); hydrocarbons were less than 5%. The major components of the mixture of volatiles were 6-methylhept-5-en-2-one (16%), (E,E)-farnesol (14%), 5-ethenyldihydro-5-methylfuran-2-one (=lavender lactone, 12%) and linalol (11%). Neither GC nor GC–MS analyses of the oleoresin or volatiles of G. kola have previously been reported. Copyright

The Essential Oils of Two EndemicArgyranthemum Species of the Madeira Archipelago:A. pinnatifidum (L. fil.) Lowe spp.pinnatifidum andA. haemotomma (Lowe) Lowe

The composition of the essential oils isolated from different aerial parts of Argyranthemum pinnatifidum (L. fil.) Lowe ssp. pinnatifidum and of A. haemotomma (Lowe) Lowe was analysed by GC and GC-MS. The oils were isolated separately from the flowers, and from the leaves collected during the flowering period and the vegetative phase of the plants. The oil yields varied from <0.05% to 0.1% (v/w). The fraction of monoterpene hydrocarbons was dominant in all three oils isolated from each species, ranging from 49% to 69% in the oils of A. haemotomma, and from 43% to 71% in those of A. pinnatifidum. The main component of the oils was β-myrcene (28-50% and 39-62% of the oils isolated from A. haemotomma and A. pinnatifidum, respectively). Germacrene-D was the second most important component (10-18% of the oils from A. haemotomma and 10-23% of those from A. pinnatifidum) in all oils, except for the oil isolated during the vegetative phase of A. pinnatifidum where bornyl acetate was the second main component (11%). The essential oils isolated from the two Argyranthemum species showed an overall qualitative similarity, and a quantitative resemblance with respect to their main components.

Analysis of the Essential Oil from Twigs of Hemizygia welwitschii (Lamiaceae)

ABSTRACT The composition of the essential oil from Hemizygia welwitschii twigs was analyzed by means of GLC, LSC and GC/MS. The portion investigated so far consisted of 51% sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, 17% monoterpene hydrocarbons, 17% oxygen-containing sesquiterpenes, 6% oxygencontaining monoterpenes and 2% oxygen-containing, straight chain aliphatic compounds. The main components were β-caryophyllene (35%) and trans-α-bergamotol (11%); this is the first reported occurrence of the latter compound in Lamiaceae. The composition of the oil of H. welwitschii has not been reported previously. Additionally, 30–40% diterpenes were detected in the total oil.

Composition of the essential oil of Monizia edulis Lowe, an endemic species of the madeira archipelago

The composition of the essential oils isolated separately from leaves and from inflorescences of Monizia edulis Lowe was analysed by GC and GC–MS. During the flowering period of the plant, monoterpenes were the most abundant components of both oils (57% of the leaf oil and 51% of the oil from the inflorescences). γ-Terpinene (37% and 44% of the two oils, respectively) and myristicin (18% and 40% respectively) were the predominant oil components. The sesquiterpene fraction of the leaf oil (16%) was dominated by zingiberene (8%) and β-caryophyllene (7%), whereas that of the oil from the inflorescences (4%) contained β-caryophyllene (4%) as the major component. During the vegetative phase of the plant, myristicin (37%) was the main component of the essential oil isolated from the leaves. In this oil, the monoterpenes amounted to 40%, γ-terpinene (21%) and trans-β-ocimene (14%) being main components. The sesquiterpene fraction was rather small (9%), and β-caryophyllene (8%) was its most abundant component. n-Alkanes (14%) constituted another important fraction of this oil.