Essential oil composition of the different parts of Eryngium bourgatii Gouan from Spain

The essential oil extracted from the different parts of Eryngium bourgatii Gouan: stems + leaves (E.b.SL), inflorescences (E.b.I) and roots (E.b.R), have been extracted by steam distillation and analysed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Quantitative but not qualitative differences have been found between the analysed parts. The principal compounds from the inflorescences oil were found to be phyllocladene (37.6%) and bicyclogermacrene (15.1%), while the oil from stems and leaves showed phyllocladene (20.4%), gamma-muurolene (11.8%) and (E)-caryophyllene (10.1%) as main ones. The oil from the roots presented gamma-muurolene (15.4%) and phyllocladene (15.0%) as major constituents. It is worth mentioning the presence of a diterpene, phyllocladene, as main compound of the essential oil. This is the first report on the essential oil of this species. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.