Chemical composition of the essential oil from aerial parts of Neogaillonia eriantha (Jaub. & Spach) Lincz

The genus Neogaillonia, belonging to the Rubiaceae family, has 4 species in Iran. This research was aimed to investigate the chemical composition of the essential oil from aerial parts of Neogaillonia eriantha, from endemic species of Iran. The aerial parts of Neogaillonia eriantha (Jaub. & Spach) Lincz., were collected from the area between Sirjan and Hajiabad, at a height of 2900 m, Kerman province, Iran during May 2010. Essential oil of the aerial parts of the plant was extracted using hydrodistillation method and analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The average essential oil yield was 0.2% (w/w). Essential oil compounds were identified by GC and GC/MS. Twenty-two compounds, representing 99.6% of the total oil, were identified in the essential oil. The main constituents were β-pinene (17.1%), 1,8-cineole (15.4%), δ-3-carene (11.4%), piperitone (11.3%), α-pinene (9.1%), and limonene (8.7%). As a result, monoterpenes (95.9%) were the main group of compounds found in the essential oil of the species.