Abstract
Eugenia jambolana (Myrtaceae) is an aromatic tree used in the traditional medicine for treatment of several ailments. Chemical composition of essential oils from leaves, stems and fruits, as well as biological studies on leaf essential oils, were previously reported. Here we describe, for the first time, the chemical composition of essential oil from the seeds and its changes during storage. The oils were obtained by hydrodistillation from fresh seeds (sample A) and from material stored during two and four months (samples B and C, respectively). The oils were analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. The major components were E-caryophyllene (42.5 %) and α-humulene (22.2 %) in sample A, caryophyllene oxide (28.9 %), humulene epoxide II (13.1 %), E-caryophyllene (12.3 %) and α-humulene (9.5 %) in sample B, and caryophyllene oxide (37.3 %) and humulene epoxide II (17.1 %) in sample C. Therefore, the essential oil becomes richer in oxygenated sesquiterpenes after storage.