The chemical composition of the aerial parts essential oils of an unexplored Centaurea species (Asteraceae, sect. Calcitrapa) collected in Dhofar region, Oman: Centaurea dhofarica Baker

Abstract

In the present study, the chemical composition of the essential oil from aerial parts of Centaurea dhofarica Baker (sect. Calcitrapa Adans.), a completely unexplored species collected in Oman, was evaluated by GC-MS. The main components of the essential oil were Hydrocarbons (34.8%) with 1-pentadecene (23.2%) as the most abundant constituent of the oil. Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons were also well represented (27.8%) being β-caryophyllene (6.3%) and α-cubebene (6.0%) the main metabolites of the class. Furthermore, a complete literature review on the composition of the essential oils of all the other taxa of Centaurea, belonging to sections Calcitrapa, studied so far, was carried out.