Variation in volatile leaf oils of 13 Eucalyptus species harvested from Souinet Arboreta (Tunisia)

Hydrodistillation of the dried leaves of 13 species of the genus Eucalyptus L' HER., viz., E. bicostata MAIDEN, BLAKELY & SIMMONDS, E. cinerca F. WELL. ex BENT U., E. exertra F. MUELL., E. gigantea HOOK. F. E. gunnii HOOK. F., E. macarthurii DEANE & MAIDEN., E. macrorrhyuclut F. MUELL., E. maidenii F. WELL., E. odorala BEHR. E. pauciflora SIEBER ex SPRENGEL. E. stderoxylon A. CUNN. ex WOOLLS, E. tercticornis SM., and E. viminalis LA BILL., harvested from Souinet arboreta (region of Ain Draaham, north of Tunisia) in June 2006, afforded essential oils in yields varying from 0.5+/-0.2 to 3.9+/-0.4%, dependent on the species. E. cinerea and E. exertra provided the highest and the lowest percentage of essential oil amongst all the species examined, respectively. Analysis by GC (RI) and GC/MS allowed the identification of 142 components, representing 81.5 to 98.9% of the total oil. The contents of the different samples varied according to the species. The main components were 1,8-cineole followed by cryptone, spathulenol (4), p-cymene (2), viridiflorol (6), globulol (7), beta-eudesmol, alpha-terpineol (5), limonene (8), D-piperitone, alpha-pinene (3), cuminal, and gamma-eudesmol. The principal component and the hierarchical cluster analyses separated the 13 Eucalyptus leaf essential oils into three groups, each constituting a chemotype