Composition of the essential oil of Medicago marina L. from the coastal dunes of Tuscany, Italy

This paper discusses essential oil composition of the dried aerial parts of Medicago marina harvested before and during blossom, in Vada (Livorno, Italy). In the two essential oils, rich in carbonylic compounds, 54 components were identified. Linalool (5.8%) and alpha-terpineol (3.3%) were the main monoterpenes in the vegetative phase sample, while linalool (1.2%) and p-mentha-4-en-3-one (0.4%) in the was the main constituent flowering stage. Sesquiterpenes were present only during the flowering stage, when the main constituents were non-terpenic substances. 1-Octen-3-ol and the (E)-beta-ionone were the two constituents which showed the greater differences between the two samples (9.3% and 0.7% for the first component and 14.4% and 5.6% for the second component in the two different phases). Furthermore, phenyl propanoids were also identified in these oils, particularly methyl eugenol during the reproductive phase and eugenol during the vegetative phase. Copyright (C) 2003 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.