Eucalyptus camaldulensis
The Essential Oil of Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehn. From South Florida: A High Cryptone/Low Cineole Eucalyptus
Robert S. Pappas*
Indiana University South Bend, Department of Chemistry, 1700 Mishawaka Ave., PO Box 7111, South Bend, IN 46634-7111
Sylla Sheppard-Hanger
The Atlantic Institute of Aromatherapy, 16018 Saddlestring Drive, Tampa, FL 33618
Abstract
The freshly distilled essential oil from the leaves of Eucalyptus camaldulensis collected in Tampa, FL, were analyzed by GC/MS. The major constituents identified in the oil included p-cymene (35.0%), cryptone (13.7%), terpinen-4-ol (5.7%), spathulenol (4.3%), and cuminaldehyde (3.7%). Relatively a very low amount of 1,8-cineole (2.7%) was found. The oil was not typical in chemical composition of the high cineole types of this species most often referenced in the literature and was found to be one of the highest cryptone containing essential oils yet reported.
Key Word Index
Eucalyptus camaldulensis, myrtaceae, essential oil composition, p-cymene, cryptone.
Plant Name
Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehn.
Source
The plant material used was collected from Eucalyptus camaldulensis in a suburban area of Tampa, Florida. Plant identification was carried out by senior botanist Ken Hill of the National Herbarium of New South Wales, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia.
Plant Part
The leaves were air-dried and hydrodistilled with a Clevenger-type apparatus (StoveStill 22 Quart), with an oil yield of 2.3%.
Previous Work
The composition of Eucalyptus camaldulensis oil of Burundi, Moroccan, and Benin origins has been the subject of previous studies (1-4). The major component of these oils was 1,8-cineole ranging from 31.0 - 72.5% with no presence of cryptone being reported. Cryptone has been previously shown to be present in low-cineole varieties of E. camaldulensis from Australia (5) and Benin (6).
Present Work
The freshly distilled oil was analyzed by GC/MS carried out on a Perkin-Elmer Autosystem XL with Turbo Mass software version 4.1.0 and a DB-5 capillary column (20 m x 0.18 mm).The GC/MS was operated under the following conditions: injector and detector temperatures at 250°C; injection size of 0.2 mL (5% soln.) split ratio 1:50; He carrier gas @ 1.0 mL/min; oven temperature programmed from 50 - 250°C @ 2°C/min. MS were taken at 70 eV with a mass range from m/z 20 to 450. Identification of components was done by library searches using the NIST spectral database as well as by comparison of MS of authentic samples and by retention indices. The compounds identified are listed in Table 1.
Table I. Chemical composition of oil from Eucalyptus camaldulensis from South Florida.
| Compound | Area % |
|---|---|
| alpha-thujene | 4.25 |
| alpha-pinene | 1.36 |
| sabinene | 1.43 |
| beta-pinene | 0.10 |
| myrcene | 0.87 |
| alpha-phellandrene | 0.32 |
| alpha-terpinene | 0.20 |
| para-cymene | 34.99 |
| beta-phellandrene | 5.94 |
| 1,8-cineole | 2.71 |
| gamma-terpinene | 0.47 |
| trans-sabinene hydrate | 0.35 |
| cis-linalool oxide | 0.13 |
| terpinolene | 0.13 |
| alpha-o-dimethylstyrene | 0.10 |
| cis-Sabinene hydrate | 0.43 |
| linalool | 3.39 |
| beta-thujone | 0.25 |
| trans-p-menth-2-en-1-ol | 1.11 |
| terpinen-4-ol | 5.72 |
| cryptone | 13.70 |
| p-cymen-8-ol | 0.50 |
| alpha-terpineol | 1.21 |
| cuminaldehyde | 3.65 |
| linalyl acetate | 2.33 |
| cuminyl alcohol | 0.95 |
| carvacrol | 0.47 |
| alpha-terpinyl acetate | 0.19 |
| geranyl acetate | 0.16 |
| allo-aromadendrene | 0.35 |
| (E)-beta-farnesene | 0.28 |
| spathulenol | 4.30 |
| caryophyllene oxide | 0.43 |
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank Tony Burfield of Graham Page Ltd. and Ken Hill of the National Herbarium of New South Wales for their help with the identification of the botanical species.
References
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