Essential oil content of the flowers ofPituranthos scopariusin Algeria

Abstract

The essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation of the flowers of the Algerian Pituranthos scoparius (Coss. & Dur.) Benth.et Hook. (Apiaceae), an endemic species of North Africa, were analyzed by GC-MS. Thirty-one compounds were identified accounting for 99.3% of the whole essential oil, mainly represented by monoterpenes, followed by phenylpropanoid derivatives. The main constituents of the essential oil were myristicin (24.1%), α-pinene (17.4%), ?-phellandrene (15.6%) and sabinene (7.5%).