Chemical compositions of Casuarina equisetifolia L., Eucalyptus toreliana L. and Ficus elastica Roxb. ex Hornem cultivated in Nigeria

AbstractEssential oils were obtained by separate hydrodistillation of three different plants cultivated in Nigeria and analysed comprehensively for their constituents by means of gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The leaf essential oil of Casuarina equisetifolia L. (Casuarinaceae) comprised mainly of pentadecanal (32.0%) and 1,8-cineole (13.1%), with significant amounts of apiole (7.2%), α-phellandrene (7.0%) and α-terpinene (6.9%), while the fruit oil was dominated by caryophyllene-oxide (11.7%), trans-linalool oxide (11.5%), 1,8-cineole (9.7%), α-terpineol (8.8%) and α-pinene (8.5%). On the other hand, 1,8-cineole (39.4%) and α-terpinyl acetate (10.7%) occurred in large quantities in the essential oils of the leaf of Eucalyptus toreliana L. (Myrtaceae). The oil also features high levels of sabinene (5.9%), caryophyllene-oxide (4.7%) and α-pinene (4.2%). The main compounds identified in the leaf oil of Ficus elastica Roxb. ex Hornem. (Moraceae) were 6,10,14-trimethyl-2-pentadecanone (25.9%), geranyl acetone (9.9%), heneicosene (8.4%) and 1,8-cineole (8.2%)

Volatile compounds of Persea americana Mill from Nigeria

Persea americana Mill., avocado, is a popular traditional fruit food that is consumed during food scarcity in Southwestern Nigeria. The plant of P. americana have several therapeutic effects including analgesic, anti-inflammatory and hypotensive effects. The essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation from the leaf of the plant was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).β-Caryophyllene (43.9%) and valencene (16.0%) are the most abundant compounds in the oil. Other quantitatively significant constituents are germacrene D (5.9%), α-humulene (5.0%) and δ-cadinene (4.8%

Eclipta indica L. (Asteraceae): a source of 2-tridecanone

The volatile oil obtained by hydrodistillation from the leaf of Eclipta indica L. was analyzed for its constituents by means of GC and GC/MS. 2-Tridecanone (89.7%), a straight chain ketone, was the singly most abundant constituent. Caryophyllene oxide (3.9%) and β-caryophyllene (2.6%) were the other compounds occurring in sizeable proportion

Constituents of Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp., Moringa oleifera Lam., Heliotropium indicum L. and Bidens pilosa L. from Nigeria

The essential oils of four plant species from Nigeria have been extracted by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC and GC-MS. The oils of Cajanus cajan were comprised of sesquiterpenes (92.5%, 81.2% and 94.3% respectively in the leaves, stem and seeds). The major compounds identified were α-himachalene (9.0-11.5%), β-himachalene (8.0-11.0%), γ-himachalene (6.9-8.1%), a-humulene (7.1-8.7%) and α-copaene (4.5-5.6%). However, monoterpenoid compounds (81.8%) dominated the oil of Moringa oleifera with an abundance of α-phellandrene (25.2%) and p-cymene (24.9%). On the other hand, aldehydes (52.8%) occurred in the highest amount in Heliotropium indicum, represented by phenylacetaldehyde (22.2%), (E)-2-nonenal (8.3%) and (E, Z)-2-nonadienal (6.1%), with a significant quantity of hexahydrofarnesylacetone (8.4%). The leaf and stem oils of Bidens pilosa were dominated by sesquiterpenes (82.3% and 59.3%, respectively). The main compounds in the leaf oil were caryophyllene oxide (37.0%), β-caryophyllene (10.5%) and humulene oxide (6.0%), while the stem oils had an abundance of hexahydrofarnesyl acetone (13.4%), δ-cadinene (12.0%) and caryophyllene oxide (11.0%). The observed chemical patterns differ considerably from previous investigation

Sesquiterpene-rich essential oil of Polyalthia longifolia Thw. (Annonaceae) from Nigeria

The essential oils of the leaf and stem bark of Polyalthia longifolia Thw. (Annonaceae) have been studied for their constituents by means of GC and GC/MS. The leaf oil was almost exclusively composed of sesquiterpene derivatives, being represented by allo-aromadendrene (19.7%), caryophyllene oxide (14.4%), β-caryophyllene (13.0%), β-selinene (7.9%), α-humulene (7.0%) and ar-curcumene (6.8%). However, α-copaene and α-muurolol (ca. 8.7%), β-selinene (8.6%), viridiflorene (8.1%), α-guaiene (7.8%), allo-aromadendrene (7.4%) and δ-cadinene (7.0%) were the major constituents occurring in the oil of the bark sample. All the other sesquiterpenoid compounds were observed in amount greater than 1%. α-Pinene (0.5%) and camphene (tr), which are the two monoterpenoids present in the leaf oil, could not be detected from the bark essential oi

Essential oil profiles of some Nigerian medicinal plants

The paper reports on the compounds identified from the essential oils of Peperomia pellucida (L.) Kunth. (Piperaceae), Laggera aurita (L.f.) Sch. Bip. ex C.B. Clarke (Asteraceae), Crateva religiosa Forst. f. (Capparaceae) and Passiflora foetida L. (Passifloraceae). The oils were obtained by separate hydrodistillation procedures and analyzed for their constituents by means of GC and GC-MS. The seventy-four oil constituents of P. pellucida had dill-apiole (38.6 %), bicyclogermacrene (10.7 %), germacrene D (9.6 %) and β-chamigrene (8.3 %) in abundance. The phenol ether- p-2, 5-dimethoxy cymene (66.5 %) was the most singly abundance of the twenty-nine constituent of L. aurita. Terpenes are less common. In the forty-three identified oil constituents of C. religiosa were present linalool (30.2 %) and nonanal (17.2 %) as dominant compounds while P. foetida had hexahydrofarnesylacetone (15.2 %) occurring above 10 % among the seventy-six constituents detected so far. The other constituents that could be identified in sizeable amounts are β-eudesmol (6.5 %), germacrene D, caryophyllene oxide and β-cedrene (ca.5.0 %). The volatile oil constituents of C. religiosa and P. foetida are probably being reported for the first tim

Monoterpenoid constituents of the volatile oils of Cynometra megalophylla Harms., Caesalpinia pulcherrima L. Swartz and Pachylobus edulis G. Don., growing in Nigeria

The phytochemical investigation of the volatile oils from the root of Cynometra megalophylla Harms., the flower of Caesalpinia pulcherrima L. Swartz (Leguminosae) and the seeds of Pachylobus edulis G. Don (Burseraceae), by capillary gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) are being reported. The investigation led to the identification of 43, 19 and 44 compounds in the oils of C. megalophylla, C. pulcherrima and P. edulis, respectively. While the oils of the former were highly dominated by monoterpenoids (86.8%), that of the latter were exclusively made up of monoteprenoids (98.8%). The major compounds of the oils were a-phellandrene (32.0% and 36.5%), p-cymene (18.2% and 15.3%) and g-terpinene (12.1% and 7.9%) in C. megalophylla and C. pulcherrima, respectively. However, a-pinene (13.7%), limonene (8.5%) and pentadecane (8.9%) constituted the bulk of the oil of P. edulis. It had 48.3% of monoterpenoids as well as 33.9% of straight-chain aliphatic hydrocarbon