Planta Med 2011; 77 - PE38
DOI: 10.1055/s-0031-1282369

Variation in the essential oil composition of the fruits of Vitex agnus-castus

G Gulsoy 1, M Kürkçüoğlu 2, KHC Başer 3, 4, G Sariyar 1
  • 1Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
  • 2Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Anadolu University, Eskişehir, Turkey
  • 3Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Anadolu University, Eskişehir, Turkey
  • 4Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Vitex agnus-castus L. (Lamiaceae) is widely distributed in Turkey, mainly in coastal areas of the West and the South West. The fruits are used in folk medicine to treat illnesses and the essential oil obtained from the fruits is known is used as a substitute for kekik oil in Turkey (1).

Essential oil compositions of the fruits of Vitex agnus-castus collected from 5 different regions, Balıkesir (Altınoluk) 1, Muğla (Bodrum) 2, Antalya (Manavgat) 3, Edirne (Enez) 4 and Zonguldak (Devrek) 5 have been analyzed by GC and GC-MS to document the variability in their composition. The results indicate chemovariability in oils of the fruits sourced from different sites. There are also marked differences in contents of the major constituents. Sample 2 and 3 contains 1,8-cineole [17% (1), 13.2% (2)], sabinene [12.8% (2), 12.1% (3)], β-caryophyllene [12.7% (2), 11.4% (3)] and bicyclogermacrene [11.0% (2), 12.1% (3)] as major constituents respectively. Sabinene (15.4%), 1,8-cineole (17.3%) and bicyclogermacrene (12.1%) are the major constituents together with (Z)-β-farnesene (13.5%) in the sample 1. The highest content of bicyclogermacrene (22.1%) is shown in sample 4. Sample 5 is the only one which contains α-pinene (10%) as the main constituent.

References: Reference:

1) Baytop T (1999) Türkiye'de Bitkiler ile tedavi (Therapy with plants in Turkey), 2nd ed. Nobel Tıp Kitabevleri Ltd. İstanbul