Chemical composition and chiral analysis of β-myrcene rich essential oil from (L.f.) DC.

Essential oil from the aerial parts and flowers of (L.f.) DC. was analysed using GC, chiral GC, GC-MS and NMR spectroscopy. Chemical composition and identification of compounds in the essential oils were determined by GC and GC-MS analysis respectively. GC analysis depicted β-myrcene as the major compound in both the essential oils, aerial parts containing 61.59% and flowers constitutes 44.86%. Occurrence of β-myrcene was also confirmed using H, C and DEPT 135° NMR spectroscopy. Chiral GC illustrated the enantiomeric composition of monoterpene hydrocarbons, in which (1)-(-)-β-pinene, (-)-sabinene and (4)-(-)-limonene were the major enantiomers. The present study reports the essential oil composition and enantiomeric composition of β-myrcene rich essential oil for the first time. essential oil can be a good source of β-myrcene, a compound with wide range of biological properties.