EFFECT OF COLD STORAGE ON THE COMPOSITION OF THE ESSENTIAL OILS OF EUGENIA UNIFLORA LEAVES

Abstract

The hydrodistilled volatile oil of fresh leaves and leaves of Eugenia uniflora L. stored for 24hr at 4oC were compared. The GC, LSC and GC-MS analyses of the oils revealed major quantitative differences in their chemical composition. The predominantly sesquitepene rich oils differed mainly in the percentage of their germacrene-A, germacrene-D, selina-1, 3,7(11)-trien-8-one, selin-11-en-4a-ol, viridiflorol, oxidoselina-1,3,7(11)-trien-8-one and 4-acetoxygermacra-1,8(11)-dien-9-one. The varied percentages of selina-1,3,7(11)-trien-8-one in the fresh (25.5%) and refridgerated (10.9%) leaves may be primarily responsible for the slight difference in odour, chemical and biological properties of the two oil.


Key Words: Essential oils, Eugenia uniflora L., fresh and refrigerated leaves, monoterpenes, sesquitepenes.


Nig. J. Nat Prod. And Med. Vol.3 1999: 79-82