The Omani Lavandula subnuda Benth. and Lavandula macra Baker accessions: the essential oil chemical compositions of their aerial parts

Abstract

Lavandula L. is the single genus of the tribe Lavanduleae (Endl.) Boiss, member of the Lamiaceae (Labiatae), distributed in Macaronesia to Mediterranean area. and India. Lavandula subnuda Benth., growing in Oman and Gulf State, and Lavandula macra Baker, present in Oman, Somalia and Yemen, are two taxa belonging to the almost unexplored Section Subnudae Chaytor. The compositions of the essential oils (EOs) of L. subnuda (LS) and L. macra (LM), the last one never been previously investigated, collected in Oman, were evaluated by GC-MS. The EOs of both species were characterised by a remarkable amount of esters and acids (40.25% and 33.49%, respectively for LS and LM) and sesquiterpenes (31.63% and 31.5.5%, respectively for LS and LM). Main constituents of LS were ethyl linoleate (15.93%), hexadecanoic acid (13.97%) and δ-cadinene (6.22%), whereas the principal metabolites of LM were hexadecanoic acid (21.38%), germacrene D (9.70%) and methyleugenol (6.71%).