E,E-α-Farnesene rich essential oil of Saraca asoca (Roxb.) Wilde flower.

Saraca asoca (Roxb.) Wilde (Fabaceae) commonly known as 'Ashoka' is a highly valued medicinal plant categorised 'vulnerable' by International Union for Conservation of Nature. The hydro-distilled essential oil from the flowers of S. asoca was investigated using gas chromatography equipped with a flame ionisation detector (GC-FID) and gas chromatography coupled with a mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Twenty-eight compounds representing 95.8% of the total oil were identified. The major constituents of the essential oil were E,E-α-farnesene (41.2%), hexadecanoic acid (15.3%), methyl salicylate (9.5%) and Z-lanceol (6.6%). The oil was found to be rich in sesquiterpene hydrocarbon-type constituents.