The chemical composition of essential oil from subsp. and subsp. (Apiaceae) aerial parts growing in Sicily (Italy).

L. genus, belonging to the Apiaceae family, includes more than eighty taxa, mainly growing in Europe and Asia. Due to the several biological properties, species of this genus have been largely investigated, showing to be a rich source of coumarins, as well as, of essential oils with anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antifungal, cytotoxic, etc. properties. In the present study, the chemical composition of the essential oils from aerial parts of Sicilian accessions of subsp. and subsp. were analysed by GC-MS. No one report has been previously published on the subsp. . The results showed the presence, in both oils, of large quantity of monoterpene hydrocarbons. Main metabolites were -pinene (15.81-19.84%), -pinene (14.63-18.52%), sylvestrene (11.18-17.45%) and 3-carene (14.58%), the last one being absent in the oil of subsp. . Chemotaxonomic considerations with respect to other oils of taxa were carried out.