The essential oil of Lippia alba: Analysis of samples from French overseas departments and review of previous works

This paper contains new data on the chemical composition of the essential oil of Lippia alba (MILL.) N. E. BROWN, as well as an overview of the available literature. Although the composition of the essential oil of this species is well-documented, discrepancies between the reported results suggest that many chemotypes and morphotypes exist. The analysis of essential oils obtained from the leaves of samples from three different locations in the French Overseas Departments (French Guiana, Martinique, and two different places in Guadeloupe) have shown that the composition of each one is quite different. This new data, along with a review and discussion of published studies, enabled us to establish seven distinct chemotypes (Tables 2 and 3). Possible connections between these chemotypes and morphotypes already described were also investigated.