Comparative Essential Oil Composition of Lavendula species from India

Abstract

The chemical composition of essential oils of two species of Lavendula—Lavendula stoechas and L. angustifolia—from India was investigated by gas chromatography and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The essential oil yield from the flowering spikes were 0.86% in L. stoechas and 1.56% in L. angustifolia. Twenty-five components amounting to 96.7% of the oil were identified in L. stoechas, and 31 compounds were identified in L. angustifolia, representing 91.7% of the oil. The major compounds present in the oil of L. stoechas were camphor (52.1%), fenchone (12.0%), 1,8-cineole (9.7%), bornyl acetate (6.2%), camphene (3.3%), α-pinene (1.1%), and terpinen-4-ol (0.6%), and the oil of L. angustifolia exhibited linalool (23.6%), linalyl acetate (35.8%), α-terpinole (6.3%), lavendulyl acetate (4.8%), 1,8-cineole (1.5%), terpinen-4-ol (2.0%), β-caryophyllene (1.8%), camphor (1.4%), and borneol (1.4%). Results showed that the essential oils of these Lavendula sp. were rich in oxygenated monoterpenes ranging from 86.3 % in L. stoechas to 82.6% in L. angustifolia and can be exploited for various applications.