Composition of the essential oil of Teucrium ramosissimum Desf. (Lamiaceae) from Tunisia

The essential oil from aerial parts of Teucrium ramosissimum Desf. (Lamiaceae), endemic to North Africa,was isolated by steam distillation and analysed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Seventy-four components were identified; the essential oil was mainly composed of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons and oxygenated sesquiterpenes at nearly the same amounts (41.9% and 42.3%, respectively). delta-Cadinene (19.97%), alpha-cadinoll (9.93%) and germacradien-4-alpha-1-ol (8.68%) were the major compounds. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.