Cinnamomum citriodorum Thw. – new source of citronellol

Abstract

The essential oil composition of Cinnamomum citriodorum leaves and petioles was determined by gas chromatography (GC) and GC–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis. Leaf and petioles yielded 0.11% and 0.42% essential oil respectively. In leaf oil, twenty-seven constituents representing 97.2% of the oil were identified. Major components of the oil were citronellol (66.5–71.1%), citronellal (10.8–10.9%) and trans-geraniol (5.9–6.5%). In the oil from the petiole, thirty-eight compounds contributing 91.3% of the oil were identified, of which citronellol (36.2–38.3%), citronellal(9.9–15.4%) and α-copaene (8.7–10.3%) were the chief constituents. Although both oils were dominated by monoterpene alcohols, the oil from the petiole contained a higher level of sesquiterpenes (26.3–36.2%) compared with the leaf oil (5.0–9.9%).