Composition of the essential oils of four medicinal plants from Ecuador

Abstract

The composition of the essential oils from leaves of Lepechinia mutica, Satureja glabrata, Minthostachys mollis and Myrcianthes rhopaloides, four species used in traditional medicine in Loja (Ecuador), was investigated by GC-FID and GC-MS. Monoterpene hydrocarbons were the main group of constituents in the essential oil of L. mutica, especially ?-phellandrene (30%), whereas oxygenated monoterpenes predominated in the oils of M. mollis and M. rhopaloides, menthone (16%) and geranial (34%), respectively, being the major components. Although the oxygenated monoterpenes dominated the essential oil from S. glabrata (44%), the main constituent of this oil was isocaryophyllene (15%), followed by citronellol (14%) and citronellyl acetate (12%). Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.