Composition of Essential Oils Obtained from Some Aromatic Plants of Nepal

Khilendra Gurung¹, Minoba Yonzon², Usha Rijal² andGabbriella Innocenti³¹Resource Research and Development Center, Kathmandu²Herbs Production and Processing Company Limited, Kathmandu³Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Padova, Italy CorrespondenceE-mail: khilendragurung@yahoo.com

Nepal is a repository of aromatic plants-over 200 species (Adhikari, 1989; Gurung, 2004), used as food, health care products, flavors and fragrances for centuries.Many are exported to industrialized countries as raw materials for drug, fragrance and flavor industries. Only 20-22 items of essential oils are extracted for analysis and for trade in Nepal. There are vast potentiality to extract essential oils from majority of underutilized aromatic herbs and some commercially important aromatic herbs.

Underutilized species as Eupatorium adenophorumSpreng (Local name: Banmara; Family: Compositae) and Lantanacamara L. (Local name: Ban phanda, gandhe kanda; Family: Verbenaceae); Commercially important culinary species as Amomumsubulatum Roxb. (Local name: Alainchi; Family: Zingiberaceae) and Linderaneesiana (Wall. ex Nees) Kurz. (Local name: Siltimur; Family: Lauraceae) are selected for the present study.

Traditionally, Eupatoriumadenophorum is used for the treatment of minor cuts, wounds, boils, stanch bleeding, wounds and fever.Lantana camara is used in cases of rheumatism, malarial fever, influenza, cough, mumps, eczema and sprain. Seeds of Amomum subulatum are used to treat dyspepsia, to relieve pains, as appetizer and aid in the flow of saliva and as a condiment in the preparation of sweets, and for flavoring beverages.Fruits of Lindera neesiana is used for treating stomach ache due to indigestion, diarrhea, toothache, nausea, as anthelmintic and flatulence (Pohle, 1990; Manandhar, 2002 and Gurung, 2003).

This paper examines the chemical composition of Eupatorium oil, Lantana oil, Large cardamom oil and Lindera oil in view of their importance as a source of income for the rural communities and as a preliminary research for developing the standards for these plant products.

Raw materials were collected from different locations of Nepal.Essential oils were obtained by hydro-distillation method using Clevenger-type apparatus.Eupatorium oil from the leaves and young twigs of Eupatorium adenophorum,Lantana oil from leaves and aerial parts of Lantanacamara, Large cardamom oil from dried seeds of Amomumsubulatum andLindera oil from dried fruits of Lindera neesiana

GC-MS analysisChemical composition of a sample of essential oils were analysed by means of GC-MS at Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Padova, Italy during 2006/2007.Identification of components was based on comparison of their mass spectra with those of Wiley Library, as well as on comparison of their retention indices with literature values.

GC-MS analysis of the Eupatorium oil, Lantana oil, Large cardamom oil and Lindera oil led to the identification of the majority of components. Altogether 29 compounds with 70.53% of the total components were identified in Eupatorium oil, Similarly, 24 compounds representing 76.65% of the total components were identified in Lantana oil, Whereas, 7 different compounds representing 94.58% of the total components identified in Large cardamom oil and 40 compounds with 86.5% of the total components were identified in Lindera oil.

MAJOR CONSTITUENTS OF THE EUPATORIUM ADENOPHORUM OIL

COMPOSITION OF EUPATORIUMCANNABINUM OIL

SN

Compounds % Retention Indices

1 Torreyol 15.24 1644

2 Bornyl acetate 7.27 1285

3 α-Bisabolol 6.52 1683

4 Zierone 4.30 1754

5 β-Bisabolene 4.26 1509

Flamini et al. (2003) reported Germacrene-D, bicyclogermacrene, methyl thymol, spathulenol, and caryophyllene oxide as main constituents in Italian Eupatoriumcannabinum oil.Singh and Pandey (1999) reported caryophyllene oxide as the major constituents of Indian Eupatoriumcannabinum oil. Penneau et al. (1993) found cyperone and α-farnesene as principal compounds in Eupatoriumcannabinum oil.

DOMINANT CONSTITUENTS OF LANTANA OIL COMPOSITION OF INDIAN

LANTANA OIL

SN Compounds % Retention Indices

1 β-Caryophyllene 16.87 1418

2 Sabinene 12.28 976

3 Eucalyptol 9.63 1033

4 Germacrene-B 9.26 1556

5 α-Caryophyllene 5.17 1454

Rana et al. (2005) determined the dominant constituents of the Leaf oil of Lantana camaragrowing in Dehradun, India as β-caryophyllene, α-humulene, germacrene-D, davanone, γ-curcumene. Singh et al. (1991) found α-farnesene, α-phellandrene, longifolene, α-cedrene and β-caryophyllene in a sample of leaf oil of Indian origin. Khan et al. (2002) reported germacrene-D, β-elemene, β-caryophyllene, α-copane and α-cadinene as main constituents in the leaves and flowers oils of Indian Lantana.

LARGE CARDAMOM OIL WAS DOMINATED BY

LARGE CARDAMOM OIL OF DARJEELING AND SIKKIM

SN Compounds % Retention Indices

1 Eucalyptol 75.76 1033

2 β-Pinene 5.98 980

3 α-Terpineol 4.43 1189

4 Limonene 4.22 1031

5 α-Pinene 2.80 939

According to Lawrence (1970), Gupta et al. (1984), Gurudutt et al. (1996) and Rout et al. (2003) oil of Large cardamom growing in Sikkim consisted of 1, 8-cineol; Patra et al. (1982) reported the presence of 1, 8-cineol, sabinene and γ-terpinene as major components in the oil from fruits of Large cardamom growing wild in Darjeeling.

LINDERA NEESIANA FRUIT OIL WAS CHARACTERIZED BY THE PRESENCE OF

LINDERA NEESIANA LEAF AND BRANCH OIL

SN Compounds % Retention Indices

1 Z-Citral 15.08 1270

2 E-Citral 11.89 1240

3 Eucalyptol 8.75 1033

4 Citronellal 6.72 1153

5 α-Pinene 6.63 939

Singh et al. (1995) reported the presence of methyl chavicol and safrole as major constituents from leaf oil while, myristicin and 1, 8-cineol were the major components of the branch oil from Lindera neesiana.

Composition of Eupatorium oil, Lantana oil and Large cardamom oil showed a different profile from those oils from other countries providing a different chemical profile.Lindera neesiana fruit oil was a new item of essential oil never studied before.Composition of these oils showed a great chemical diversity thus providing new aroma profiles. Chemical diversity found in those analyzed oils can be used to open new market opportunities due to their novel and unique properties which could contribute to a better utilization of these raw materials.Development of grades and standards as well as quality assurance and quality control systems are the key strategies to further develop the products quality.

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