Constituents of essential oils of Cupressus arizonica Greene from Uttarakhand Himalaya (India)

Abstract

Essential oils isolated from the branchlets of two populations of Cupressus arizonica Greene (Cupressaceae) growing in Uttarakhand Himalaya (India) were analyzed by GC and GC/MS in order to determine the variation in composition of their constituents. A total of 36 constituents representing 90.7–92.2% of the total composition have been identified in two locations. In the oils, monoterpenoids (90.0–90.7%) were the principal class of the components (oxygenated monoterpenes, 46.3–52.6%; monoterpene hydrocarbons, 37.4–44.4%), while sesquiterpene hydrocarbons found in lesser amounts (0.7–1.5%). Umbellulone was identified as the major constituent of the essential oils, which ranged from 20.9 to 30.6%. The other main constituents in the essential oils were found to be limonene (8.0–12.9%), α-pinene (7.1–8.1%), sabinene (6.6–7.0%), p-cymene (3.2–5.9%) and terpinen-4-ol (4.2–5.6%). In summary, the characteristic of C. arizonica essential oil from Uttarakhand Himalaya (India) is due to the presence of umbellulone and limonene in higher amounts.

Keywords:

• Cupressus arizonica Greene
• Cupressaceae
• essential oil
• umbellulone
• limonene