Essential Oil Composition of Pleurothyrium cinereum Leaves

The essential oil of jigua (Pleurothyrium cinereum, Lauraceae) leaves was extracted by steam distillation and analysed by GC (gas chromatography) and GC/MS (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry). Seventeen compounds were identified. The main components detected were β-caryophyllene (21.3%), caryophyllene oxide (18.7%), guaiol (15.5%), α-cadinene (7.3%), and germacrene-D (6.8%). The composition of essential oil from P. cinereum leaves is in agreement with the chemical composition of several neotropical Lauraceae plants