title: Constituents of Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp., Moringa oleifera Lam., Heliotropium indicum L. and Bidens pilosa L. from Nigeria.
abstract: The essential oils of four plant species from Nigeria have been extracted by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC and GC-MS. The oils of Cajanus cajan were comprised of sesquiterpenes (92.5%, 81.2% and 94.3% respectively in the leaves, stem and seeds). The major compounds identified were alpha-himachalene (9.0-11.5%), beta-himachalene (8.0-11.0%), gamma-himachalene (6.9-8.1%), alpha-humulene (7.1-8.7%) and alpha-copaene (4.5-5.6%). However, monoterpenoid compounds (81.8%) dominated the oil of Moringa oleifera with an abundance of alpha-phellandrene (25.2%) and p-cymene (24.9%). On the other hand, aldehydes (52.8%) occurred in the highest amount in Heliotropium indicum, represented by phenylacetaldehyde (22.2%), (E)-2-nonenal (8.3%) and (E, Z)-2-nonadienal (6.1%), with a significant quantity of hexahydrofarnesylacetone (8.4%). The leaf and stem oils of Bidens pilosa were dominated by sesquiterpenes (82.3% and 59.3%, respectively). The main compounds in the leaf oil were caryophyllene oxide (37.0%), beta-caryophyllene (10.5%) and humulene oxide (6.0%), while the stem oils had an abundance of hexahydrofarnesyl acetone (13.4%), delta-cadinene (12.0%) and caryophyllene oxide (11.0%). The observed chemical patterns differ considerably from previous investigations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Nigeria Defense Academy (NDA), Kaduna, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Akinola O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Ogunbinu
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Flamini
authors.forename: Pier L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Cioni
authors.forename: Muritala A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Adebayo
authors.forename: Isiaka A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Ogunwande
mesh_terms: D031176:Bidens / Q000737:chemistry*; D036561:Cajanus / Q000737:chemistry*; D028162:Heliotropium / Q000737:chemistry*; D009549:Nigeria; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry; D018547:Plant Stems / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D009822:Oils, Volatile