Phytochemical analysis of essential oil from Lavandula angustifolia L. of Iran

The genus Lavandula is an important member of Lamiaceae family, comprises about 20 species and over 100 varieties in the world. Lavandula species are widely distributed in the Mediterranean region and cultivated in different regions of the world. One of these species Lavandula angustifolia is the most commercially important aromatic plants. L. angustifolia is used in aromatherapy as a holistic relaxant and is said to have carminative, sedative, spasmolytic, antiflatulence, anticolic, antiviral and antibacterial properties [1,2,3].

The aerial parts of L. angustifolia grown at Shiraz in the south of Iran were hydrodistilled for 4 hours, using a Clevenger-type apparatus to yield 1.14% (w/w) of pale yellow oil. The essential oil was dried over anhydrous sodium sulphate and stored in a sealed vial at +4°C until analysis. The oil was analyzed by GC and GC-MS. The constituents of the essential oil were identified by comparison of their mass spectra and retention indices (RI) with those given in the literature and authentic samples [4].

Thirty-eight compounds were characterized in the essential oil of L. angustifolia, representing 96.1% of the oil, of which 1,8-cineole (43.07%), camphor (19.98%), isobornyl formate (7.51%) were found to be the major components.

Acknowledgements: The authors acknowledge the financial contribution from the Research and Technology Deputy of ACECR (Academic Centre for Education Culture & Research) for supporting this research.

References: [1] Da Porto, C., Decorti, D. (2008) Planta Med. 74:182–187.

[2] Kim, N.S., Lee, D.S. (2002)J. Chromatogr. A. 982:31–47.

[3] Lis-Balchin, M., Hart S. (1999). Phytother. Res.13:540–542.

[4] Adams, R.P. (2001) Identification of Essential oil Components by Gas Chromatography/Quadrupole Mass spectroscopy. Allured Publishing Crop. Carol stream, IL.