Abstract
The essential oil composition of Cinnamomum citriodorum leaves and petioles was determined by gas chromatography (GC) and GC–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis. Leaf and petioles yielded 0.11% and 0.42% essential oil respectively. In leaf oil, twenty-seven constituents representing 97.2% of the oil were identified. Major components of the oil were citronellol (66.5–71.1%), citronellal (10.8–10.9%) and trans-geraniol (5.9–6.5%). In the oil from the petiole, thirty-eight compounds contributing 91.3% of the oil were identified, of which citronellol (36.2–38.3%), citronellal (9.9–15.4%) and α-copaene (8.7–10.3%) were the chief constituents. Although both oils were dominated by monoterpene alcohols, the oil from the petiole contained a higher level of sesquiterpenes (26.3–36.2%) compared with the leaf oil (5.0–9.9%).
Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful to the Director, Indian Institute of Spices Research, Calicut, for providing facilities and Indian Council of Agricultural Research for the financial support.