Chemical Variability of the Essential Oil Isolated from Aerial Parts of Tetraclinis Articulata from North-Western Algeria

Abstract

The objective was to investigate the yield and chemical composition of 50 essential oil samples isolated from leaves and flowers of Tetraclinis articulata harvested in eight locations (coastal township and highlands) of Tlemcen Province (North-Western Algeria). Essential oil yields varied drastically from sample to sample (0.03 to 0.86%, w/w). No direct correlation was observed between the yield and the altitude of the harvest areas. The oils consisted mainly of monoterpenes: α-pinene (9.2–56.5%), bornyl acetate (1.2–45.1%), camphor (0.5–40.3%), borneol (0.2–12.9%), limonene (3.6–12.5%), and myrcene (1.6–9.7%). Sesquiterpenes were represented by germacrene D (up to 14.2%) and (E)-β-caryophyllene (up to 13.3%). PCA analysis of the data allowed the distinction of two groups within the samples. The composition of group I (9 samples) was dominated by camphor, (Mean = 30.9%) followed by α-pinene (M = 19.1%) and bornyl acetate (M = 11.4%). Group II was divided into two sub-groups. Samples of sub-group IIA (8 samples) contained mainly α-pinene (M = 45.4%). Samples of the largest group IIB (33 samples) were characterized by similar contents of α-pinene (M = 28.2%) and bornyl acetate (M = 24.5%) and the occurrence of camphor to a lesser extent (M = 10.0%).