Composition of the essential oil of <i>Tagetes maxima</i> Kuntze from Bolivia

Abstract

Abstract The essential oil of leaves and stems of Tagetes maxima Kuntze growing wild in Bolivia was analysed by HRGC and HRGC–MS (quadrupole). Twenty‐four components (93% of the total composition) were identified and the enantiomeric distribution of α‐pinene, sabinene, β‐pinene and limonene was studied by multidimensional HRGC–HRGC. The major components were found to be ( Z )‐tagetone (19%), ( Z )‐tagetenone (14%), ( Z )‐β‐ocimene (13%), ( E )‐tagetenone (18%), dihydrotagetone (8%) and piperitenone (6%). Copyright © 2002 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.