Aromatic Plants of Tropical Central Africa. XXIV. Volatile Constituents of Acanthospermum hispidum DC from the Congo

ABSTRACT

The comparative analyses of the essential oils, obtained by hydrodistillation of leaves of Acanthospermum hispidum DC collected monthly in the Brazzaville area (Congo), were performed by GC and GC/MS. The oils were found to be rich in sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (66.3–79.1%), with large to moderate amounts of β-caryophyllene (34.0–42.7%), α-humulene (8.9–12.7%) and their oxides accompanied by variable amounts of α-bisabolol (3.7–11.2%). The presence of aromatic components such as carvacrol and methyl carvacrol as well as aliphatic aldehydes in all samples is worth noting.

KEY WORD INDEX:

• Acanthospermum hispidum
• Asteraceae
• essential oil composition
• β-caryophyllene
• α-humulene
• germacrene D
• bicyclogermacrene
• α-bisabolol