Chemical diversity of essential oils from native populations of Eplingiella fruticosa

Abstract The objective of this work was to analyze the content and the chemical diversity of the essential oil (EO) of 22 Eplingiella fruticosa plants collected in Sergipe, Brazil. EOs were obtained from dry leaves by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC/MS-FID. The mean EO contents ranged from 0.75 to 1.28%. The compounds found in greater amounts formed two clusters. The first cluster consisted of 15 plants and presented bicyclogermacrene (6.29-16.24%), spathulenol (7.59-15.23%), β-caryophyllene (5.77-12.97%), and caryophyllene oxide (5.00-11.90%) as major compounds. The second cluster consisted of seven plants and had 1,8-cineole (8.96-15.51%), α-pinene (5.46-13.77%), and camphor (4.08-11.40%) as major compounds. Results indicate chemical variability of the EO among E. fruticosa plants from the state of Sergipe. This information may assist in conservation strategies by providing data for investigation of biological activities of EO.