Abstract
Water-distilled essential oil from leaves of Erica arborea L. of Algerian origin was analysed by GC-MS. 75 components representing more than 97 % of the essential oil were identified among which palmitic acid (33.3 %), 9,12,15-Octadecatrien-1-ol, (Z,Z,Z)-(6.6 %) and nonacosane (6.1 %) were the major constituents. The essential oil yield evolution during hydrodistillation showed a relatively slow extraction kinetic.