Analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of the essential oil from the aerial parts of Pimpinella junoniae Ceb. & Ort., gathered in La Gomera, Canary Islands, Spain

The essential oil from the aerial parts of Pimpinella junoniae Ceb. & Ort., growing in La Gomera, Canary Islands, Spain, was studied by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and 43 constituents were identified. The major components were found to be alpha-zingiberene (20.6%),alpha-pinene(17.9%),(E)-beta-famesene (9.3%), ar-curcumene (7.4%), beta-phellandrene (7.0%), beta-bisabolene (6.1%) and epoxypseudoisoeugenyl 2-methylbutyrate (6.0%). The decomposition product of epoxypseudoisoeugenol derivatives, 5-methoxy-2-methylbenzofuran (5.7%), moderate amounts of other arylpropanoids with the pseudoisoeugenol skeleton (total percentage, 5.2%) and other compounds such as beta-sesquiphellandrene (3.0%), cis-beta-guaiene (1.5%), alpha-phellandrene (1.5%) and alpha-bisabolol (1.3%), were also found. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.