Volatile Composition of the Leaf, Flower and Fruit of Cordia sebestena (L.)

The volatile composition of the essential oils obtained through hydrodistillation from the leaf, flower and fruit of Cordia sebestena (L.) of Nigerian origin, was determined by GC-MS analyses. A total of 61 compounds were identified in the three samples, while three were unidentifiable. Bioactive compounds such as nerolidol (2.3 %), farnesyl acetate (4.9 %) and 4-pentenylbutanoic acid ester (12.2 %) were found uniquely in the fruit while hemimellitene (2.6 %), D-limolene (1.5 %) and 1,2-dihydro-1,1,6-trimethylnaphthalene (4.5 %) were detected only in the flower and p-vinylguaiacol (1.4 %), Cyclopenta[1,3]cyclopropa[1,2]cyclohepten-3(3aH)-one, 1,2,3b,6,7,8-hexahydro-6,6-dimethyl (1.1 %) and citronellyliso-butyrate (0.7 %) in the leaf. Squalene and phytolwere found in the leaf and fruit at significant concentrations but were not detected in flower. The essential oil from Cordia sebestina is a potential source of pharmacologically important natural products.