Essential oil of Eugenia melanadenia Krug et Urb. from Cuba

Journal of Essential Oil Research: JEOR, Jul/Aug 2003 by Pino, Jorge A, Marbot, Rolando, Bello, Avilio, Urquiola, Armando

Received: April 2001

Revised: August 2001

Accepted: October 2001

Abstract

The chemical composition of the essential oil obtained from the leaves of Eugenia melanadenia Krug et Urb. from Cuba was examined by combined GC/MS. The oil was characterized by the presence of 1,8-cineole (45.3%), terpinen-4-ol (10.6%), p-cymene (8.2%), [beta]-eudesmol (7.0%) and [alpha]-terpineol (6.7%) as major constituents.

Key Word Index

Eugenia melanadenia, Myrtaceae, essential oil composition, 1,8-cineole, terpinen-4-ol.

Plant Name

Eugenia melanadenia Krug et Urb. (Myrtaceae).

Source

The plant material was collected in the Cuba's westernmost province, Pinar del Rio. A voucher specimen of the plant has been deposited at the Herbarium of the Higher Institute of Teaching of Pinar del Rio. Identity of the plant has been confirmed by one of the authors (A.U.).

Plant Part

Leaves were harvested and air-dried for seven days. The oil (7.0%) was obtained by hydrodistillation for 5 h in a Clevenger-type apparatus.

Previous Work

Eugenia melanadenia is an endemic herb from Cuba (1). A review of the literature reveals that the volatiles of this plant have not been the subject of previous studies.

Present Work

GC/MS analyses were performed with a Hewlett-Packard model 5890 series II or model 6890 series II GC coupled to an HP 5972 or HP 5973 mass spectrometer. They were fitted with a CP-SIL-5CB Chrompack fused silica column (50 m x 0.32 mm, 0.4 [mu]m film thickness) or an AT-WAX Alltech fused silica column (60 m x 0.32 mm, 0.25 [mu]m film thickness). Temperature programming was performed from 60[degrees]C (10 min), 60[degrees]-280[degrees]C at 3[degrees]C/min and held for 60 min in the apolar column and from 65[degrees]C (10 min), 65[degrees]-250[degrees]C at 2[degrees]C/min and held for 60 min in the polar column; injector temperature was 250[degrees]C; transfer line, 250deg;C and carrier gas (helium) flow, 1 mL/min. The constituents were identified by matching their spectra with those recorded in the MS library and confirmed by comparison of their mass spectra and retention indices with those of authentic compounds on both columns.

The 75 compounds identified in the oil are listed in Table I. Among these compounds were: 42 monoterpenoids (80.8%), 24 sesquiterpenoids (17.1%), five phenolics (0.5%), three aromatic compounds (0.2%) and one aliphatic compound. The oil is dominated by the presence of 1,8-cineole (45.3%), terpinen-4-ol (10.6%), p-cymene (8.2%), [beta]-eudesmol (7.0%) and [alpha]-terpineol (6.7%) as major constituents.

References

1. J.T. Roig, Diccionario Botanico de Nombres Vulgares Cubanos. Editorial Cientifico-Tecnica. La Habana (1988).

Jorge A. Pino*

Institute de Investigaciones para la Industria Alimenticia, Carretera del Guatao km 3 1/2 C. Habana 19200, Cuba

Rolando Marbot

Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas, C. Habana, Cuba

Avilio Bello and Armando Urquiola

Instituto Superior Pedagogico de Pinar del Rio, Cuba

*Address for correspondence