THE CONSTITUENTS OF ESSENTIAL OILS OF FERULAGO ANGULATA (SCHLECHT.) BOISS AT TWO DIFFERENT HABITATS, NEVAKOH AND SHAHOO, ZAGROSS MOUNTAIN, WESTERN IRAN

Abstract

Ferulago angulata (Apiaceae), a medicinal plant of western Asia, contains essential oils that areused as a food preservative. This study examined and compared the composition of leaf oil with seed oil andof the oils from two different habitats (one from Nevakov and the other from Shahoo). The oil yield from seedwas 5-fold that from leaves (3.2%/100g compared to 0.63%/100g). Cis-ocimene was the major constituent ofthe seed oil from both regions (64.8% and 76.11%) and a prominent constituent (>20% of the total oil) of theleaf oils of both habitats. α-Pinene was the next main component (7-27%) of all 4 oils. Seed oils, with onemajor component (cis-ocimene), differed from the leaf oils, which were composed mostly of 3 components(α-pinene, cis-ocimene, & germacrene D). Distinctions between the oils of the two habitats were less markedthan the leaf-oil/seed-oil differences; the cis-ocimene content was higher and α-pinene was less in both seedandleaf-oils of the Shahoo habitats than the Nevakoh ecotype; trans-verbenol was absent from the Shahooleaves, but reached a content of 5.8% in Nevahoh leaf-oil. Further distinctions were found in thecontent/presence/absence of 20-30 minor components of the oils.