Gordana Stanić

Essential Oil of Teucrium flavum L. from Croatia

ABSTRACT The composition of the essential oil of Teucrium flavum L. from Croatia was investigated by GC and GC/MS. Thirty-five components were identified, of which α-pinene (17.3%), β-pinene (11.2%), β-caryophyllene (15.8%) and allo-aromadendrene (9.2%) were the major components.

Time‐dependent diuretic response in rats treated with Juniper berry preparations

The infusion and the essential oil of juniper berries (Juniperus communis L.) as well as terpinen‐4‐ol were tested for diuresis response in rats. GC analysis of the oil obtained from the drug sample revealed that the ratio between the pinene fraction and terpinen‐4‐ol was 5:1. In a 1 day experiment the effect of diuresis reduction was observed and compared with the effect of vasopressin (ADH). The effect of the smallest dose of ADH (0.004 IU/100 g b.w.) intraperitoneally administered was comparable to the effect of a 10% drug infusion and 0.1% essential oil solution, while the effect of 0.4 IU/100 g b.w. of ADH was comparable to that of a 0.01% solution of terpinen‐4‐ol. During a 3 day experiment diuresis was stimulated after the second application and especially after the third application of test solutions. Among tested preparations a 10% drug infusion exerted the most considerable diuretic activity. After 72 h, i.e. three oral doses of 5 mL/100 g b.w. of drug infusion, the cumulative urine volume was 44% above the control value. The results suggest that the diuretic activity of juniper berries cannot be attributed only to the essential oil but also to hydrophilic drug constituents. Copyright

Application of numerical methods to thin-layer chromatographic investigation of the main components of chamomile (Chamomilla recutita (L.) Rauschert) essential oil

Abstract The efficiency of eleven TLC systems for separating the main components of chamomile essential oil has been tested. The information theory and the methods of numerical taxonomy have been applied for this purpose. The design of the most effective series of chromatographic systems is discussed in terms of discriminating power and mean information content. The series of systems with the highest discriminating power is shown to produce the best overall separations for a large specified population of components of chamomile essential oil. It leads to the identification of an unknown component using a minimum number of systems. It has been established that the most favourable mobile phases for TLC of chamomile essential oil are chloroform–toluene (75:25) and chloroform–toluene–ethyl acetate (65:30:5) mixtures.

Gas Chromatographic Investigations of Essential Oils of Satureja montana and Satureja subspicata from Yugoslavia

ABSTRACT The essential oils of Satureja montana L. subsp. montana from five different locations were analyzed by GC/MS. Samples from two locations were collected in four consecutive vegetation periods of plant. Although the oil content varied from 0.8% to 1.8%, the highest oil yield was found in samples collected prior to flowering. Depending upon the location and development stage of the plant, the oils were found to possess significant quantitative differences. The main components found in the oils were carvacrol (4.8–61.1%), thymol (1.0–61.0%), p-cymene, γ-terpinene, β-caryophyllene, bornyl acetate and borneol. Analysis of the oil of the endemic S. subspicata ssp. liburnica revealed the following composition: monoterpene hydrocarbons (17.9%), oxygenated monoterpenes (29.2%), phenols (35.5%) and sesquiterpenoids (11.4%). The main components were carvacrol (21.9%) and bornyl acetate (13.6%).