The Essential Oils of the Australian Species of Rhodomyrtus (Myrtaceae)

✍ Scribed by Joseph J. Brophy; Robert J. Goldsack; Paul I. Forster

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 126 KB
• Volume: 12
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0882-5734
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-1026(199703)12:2<103::aid-ffj621>3.0.co;2-b

✦ Synopsis

The leaf essential oils of the seven Australian members of the genus Rhodomyrtus have been examined. Rhodomyrtus canescens C. T. White & W. D. Francis produced an oil in which the main components were a-pinene (20±23%), b-pinene (6±10%) and aromadendrene (12±17%). R. eussa Guymer produced an essential oil that was completely sesquiterpenoid in character, the principal components being globulol (11±22%), viridi¯orol (8±10%) and spathulenol (5±18%). R. macrocarpa Benth. also produced an essential oil that was dominated by sesquiterpenes. The principal components were b-caryophyllene (9±44%), aromadendrene (6±11%), and globulol (8±10%). The major components of R. pervagata Guymer essential oil were a-pinene (27±35%) and b-pinene (18±24%). R. psidioides (G. Don.) Benth. also produced an essential oil which was monoterpenoid in nature. The principal components were a-pinene (28±66%) and limonene (1±24%). The oil from R. sericea Burret. contained a-pinene (28%), b-pinene (21%) and b-caryophyllene (13%) as principal components. The two subspecies of R. trineura both were essentially sesquiterpenoid in character. In R. trineura (F. Muell.) F. Muell. ex Benth. subsp. trineura the major components were b-caryophyllene (16±29%), caryophyllene oxide (2±12%) and globulol (7±10%), while in R. trineura subsp. capensis Guymer a more variable oil was obtained with some samples containing signi®cant amounts of the monoterpene a-pinene. The major components detected in the oil were a-pinene (tr±26%), globulol (9±19%), viridi¯orol (5±12%) and spathulenol (4±7%).