title: Composition of the essential oil of the flower heads of Matricaria perforata.
abstract: The essential oil of the flower heads of scentless mayweed (M. perforata Mérat) was investigated. It consists of more than 50 compounds; 26 of them, together representing about 95.2% of the total oil, were identified by GC, GC/MS, and partly by 1H-NMR and UV. They can be classified into polyacetylenes (88.8%), sesquiterpenoids (5.8%), monoterpenoids (0.1%), fatty acids (0.3%), and miscellaneous compounds (5.0%). The oil was dominated by 2Z,8Z-matricaria ester (ME; 75.2%), which was accompanied by several other characteristic polyines, occurring in much lower concentrations: e.g. 8Z-2,3-dihydro-ME, 2E- and 2Z-lachnophyllum ester, 2E-dehydro-ME, and 5E,9Z-matricaria lactone.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Pharmazeutische Biologie, D-14195 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bär
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Schultze