Composition of the essential oils of four medicinal plants from Ecuador

Resumen

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 β ‐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.