Composition of the essential oils from leaves of two <i>Hedyosmum</i> spp. from Bolivia

Abstract

Abstract Essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation from aerial parts of Hedyosmum angustifolium (Ruiz &amp; Pavón) Solms‐Laubach and H. scabrum (Ruiz &amp; Pavón) Solms‐Laubach from Bolivia were analysed by GC–FID and GC–MS. Monoterpene hydrocarbons, especially α‐ and β‐pinene, and oxygen containing monoterpenes, mainly 1,8‐cineole and linalool, were the major constituents found in the oils of H. angustifolium . The oil of H. scabrum was mainly made up of monoterpenes, in particular δ‐3‐carene, the sesquiterpene hydrocarbons α‐gurjunene and germacrene D, and 3′, 4′‐dimethoxypropiophenone. For both oils, the enantiomeric distribution of α‐pinene, sabinene, β‐pinene, limonene, linalool, terpinen‐4‐ol and α‐terpineol was studied by multidimensional HRGC–HRGC. The main difference between the oils corresponded to the reverse enantiomeric distribution found for linalool, indicating a clear index of different metabolic response in each species. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.