Chemical polymorphism of essential oils from populations of Laurus nobilis grown on Tunisia, Algeria and France.

The compositions of the essential oils isolated from the aerial parts of tree Mediterranean populations of Laurus nobilis L. collected during the flowering phase on Tunisia, Algeria and France, were studied by GC and GC-MS. The analysis has allowed identifying 54 components. The main components were 1,8-cineole, α-terpinyl acetate (10-18.6%), methyl eugenol (10-22.1%), sabinene (1.2-8%), eugenol (1.2-11.7%) α-pinene (tr-4.5%) and β-pinene (0.4-4.2%). The monoterpene fraction was dominant in all the oils analysed and consisted mainly of oxygenated monoterpenes. The oils from the tree populations studied showed a clear chemical polymorphism. The principal component and the hierarchical cluster analyses separated the Laurus nobilis leaf essential oils into three groups