Essential oils of the leaves and stems of four Psidium spp

Abstract

The essential oils of the leaves and fine stems of Psidium acutangulum, P. striatulum, P. guineense and P. guajava were obtained by hydrodistillation and analysed by GC-MS. The main compounds identified in the oil of P. acutangulum were α-pinene (14.8%), 1,8-cineole (12.9%) and β-pinene (10.1%). The oil of P. striatulum was dominated by β-caryophyllene (28.6%), α-selinene (7.7%), caryophyllene oxide (7.6%) and β-selinene (7.4%). The major constituents found in the oil of P. guineense were β-bisabolol (17.4%), limonene (6.8%) and epi-α-bisabolol (6.7%). The oil of P. guajava was dominated by α-pinene (23.9%), 1,8-cineole (21.4%) and β-bisabolol (9.2%). Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.