Abstract
The leaf essential oils of five species of Beilschmiedia from Monteverde, Costa Rica (Beilschmiedia alloiophylla, B. brenesii, B. costaricensis, B. tilaranensis, and an undescribed Beilschmiedia species “chancho blanco”) have been obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC-MS in order to discern the differences and similarities between the volatile chemical compositions of these species. The principal constituents of B. alloiophylla leaf oil were germacrene D (18.9%), cis- and trans-β-ocimene (18.8% and 9.3%, respectively), α-pinene (11.8%), and bicyclogermacrene (9.1%). The leaf oil of B. brenesii was composed largely of the sesquiterpenes germacrene D (19.3%), β-caryophyllene (13.4%), α-copaene (9.0%), α-humulene (8.1%), and δ-cadinene (5.8%), and the carbonyl compounds 2-undecanone (12.8%), trans-2-hexenal (8.8%), and 2-tridecanone (3.8%). α-Bisabolol (72.1%) dominated the leaf oil of B. costaricensis, while B. tilaranensis had germacrene D (54.9%), β-caryophyllene (14.8%), and δ-cadinene (5.1%) as major components. Beilschmiedia “chancho blanco” leaf oil was composed largely of β-caryophyllene (16.6%), bicyclogermacrene (14.1%), and α-pinene (12.1%).