Abstract
The chemical composition of essential oils of sweet cicely (Myrrhis odorata (L.) Scop.) leaves from two geographic areas (Lithuania and France) were determined by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Comparatively slight differences were observed in the chemical composition of essential oils from both selected origins. The yield of essential oil varied from 0.4±0.02% in Lithuanian to 0.5±0.01% in French origin. In total twenty and twenty-six components were identified in the hydrodistilled oils of Lithuanian and French origin, respectively. The essential oils of both origins were found to be rich in E-anethole (48.1±1.4% and 50.7±1.1%), methyleugenol (14.3±0.5% and 13.1±0.4%), E-nerolidol (10.2±0.8% and 12.0±0.3%) and germacrene-D (5.0±0.1% and 4.3±0.3%).
Acknowledgements
The study was supported by Research Council of Lithuania (grants no. TAP47 and SVE-06/2011). The authors would like to thank Dr. O. Ragažinskienė (Kaunas Botanical Garden of Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania) for providing plant material.