The essential oils of four plant species from Nigeria have been extracted by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC and GC-MS. The oils of Cajanus cajan were comprised of sesquiterpenes (92.5%, 81.2% and 94.3% respectively in the leaves, stem and seeds). The major compounds identified were α-himachalene (9.0-11.5%), β-himachalene (8.0-11.0%), γ-himachalene (6.9-8.1%), α-humulene (7.1-8.7%) and α-copaene (4.5-5.6%). However, monoterpenoid compounds (81.8%) dominated the oil of Moringa oleifera with an abundance of α-phellandrene (25.2%) and p-cymene (24.9%). On the other hand, aldehydes (52.8%) occurred in the highest amount in Heliotropium indicum, represented by phenylacetaldehyde (22.2%), (E)-2-nonenal (8.3%) and (E, Z)-2-nonadienal (6.1%), with a significant quantity of hexahydrofarnesylacetone (8.4%). The leaf and stem oils of Bidens pilosa were dominated by sesquiterpenes (82.3% and 59.3%, respectively). The main compounds in the leaf oil were caryophyllene oxide (37.0%), β-caryophyllene (10.5%) and humulene oxide (6.0%), while the stem oils had an abundance of hexahydrofarnesyl acetone (13.4%), δ-cadinene (12.0%) and caryophyllene oxide (11.0%). The observed chemical patterns differ considerably from previous investigations.
OgunbinuAO, FlaminIG, CioniPL, OgunwandeIA, OkeniyiSO (2009) Essential Oil Constituents of Eclipta prostrata (L.) L. and Vernonia amygdalina Delile. Natural Product Communications, 4, 421–424.
2.
(a) DukeJA. (1981) Handbook of legumes of world economic importance. Plenum Press, New York
3.
(b) LuoQ.-F, SunL, SiJ.-Y, ChenDi-H. (2008) Hypocholeterolemic effect of stilbenes containing extract-fraction from Cajanus cajan L. on diet-induced hypercholesterolemia in mice. Phytomedicine, in press;
4.
(c) KunduR, DasguptaS, BiswasA, BhattacharyaA, PalBC, BandyopadhyayD, BhattacharyaS, BhattacharyaS. (2008) Cajanus cajan Linn. (Leguminosae) prevents alcohol-induced rat liver damage and augments cytoprotective. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 118, 440–447.
5.
(a) AkihisaT, NishimuraY, NakamuraN, RoyK, ThakurPGS, TamuraT. (1992) Sterols of Cajanus cajan and three other leguminosae seeds. Phytochemistry, 31, 1765–1768
6.
(b) CookseyCJ, DahiyaJS, GarrattPJ, StrangeRN. (1980) Two novel stilbene-2-carboxylic acid phytoalexins from Cajanus cajan.Phytochemistry, 21, 2935–2938
7.
(c) BhanumatiS, ChhabraSC, GuptaSR, KrishnamoorthyV. (1978) Cajaflavanone: A new flavanone from Cajanus cajan.Phytochemistry, 17, 2045–2047
8.
(d) PrestonNW. (1977) Cajanone: An antifungal isoflavanone from Cajanus cajan.Phytochemistry, 16, 143–144
9.
(e) DahiyaJS, StrangeRN, BilyardKG, CookseyCJ, GarrattPJ. (1984) Two isoprenylated isoflavone phytoalexins from Cajanus cajan. Phytochemistry, 23, 871–873.
10.
(a) MuyibiSA, EvisonLM. (1995) Moringa oleifera seeds for softening hard water. Water Resources, 29, 1099–1104
11.
(b) RichterN, SiddhurajuP, BeckerK. (2003) Evaluation of nutritional quality of moringa (Moringa oleifera Lam.) leaves as an alternative protein source for Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L). Aquaculture, 217, 599–611
12.
(c) FakuraziS, HairuszahI, NanthiniU (2008) Moringa oleifera Lam prevents acetaminophen induced liver injury through restoration of glutathione level. Food Chemistry and Toxicology, 46, 2611–2615
13.
(d) ChumarkP, KhunawatP, SanvarindaY, PhornchirasilpS, MoralesNP, Phivthong-NgamNL, RatanachamnongP, SrisawatS, PongrapeepornK. (2008) The in vitro and ex vivo antioxidant properties, hypolipidaemic and antiatherosclerotic activities of water extract of Moringa oleifera Lam. leaves. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 116, 439–466
14.
(e) SashidharaK, RosaiahJ, TyagiE, ShuklaR, RaghubirR, RajendranSM. (2008) Rare dipeptide and urea derivatives from roots of Moringa oleifera as potential anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive agents. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, in press;
15.
(f) PalSK, MukherjeePK, SahaBP. (1995) Studies on the antiulcer activity of Moringa oleifera leaf extract on gastric ulcer models in rats. Phytotherapy Research, 9, 463–465
16.
(g) MurakamiA, KitazonoY, JiwajindaS, KoshimizuK, OhigashiH. (1994) Niaziminin, a thiocarbamate from the leaves of Moringa oleifera, holds a strict structural requirement for inhibition of tumor-promoter-induced Epstein-Barr virus activation. Planta Medica, 64, 319–323
17.
(h) GilaniAH, AftabK, SuriaA, SiddiquiS, SalemR, SiddiquiBS, FaiziS. (1994) Pharmacological studies on hypotensive and spasmolytic activities of pure compounds from Moringa oleifera.Phytotherapy Research, 8, 87–91
18.
(i) RoySK, ChandraK, GhoshK, MondalS, MaitiD, OjhaAK, MondalDDS, ChakrabortyI, IslamSS (2007) Structural investigation of a heteropolysaccharide isolated from the pods (fruits) of Moringa oleifera (sajina). Carbohydrate Research, 342, 2380–2389.
19.
(a) ReddyJS, RaoR, ReddyMS. (2002) Wound healing effects of Heliotropium indicum, Plumbago zeylanica and Acalypha indica.Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 79, 249–251
20.
(b) BireckaH, DiNolfoTE, MartinWB, FrohlichMW. (1984) Polyamines and leaf senescence in pyrrolizidine alkaloid-bearing Heliotropium plants. Phytochemistry, 23, 991–997
21.
(c) PandeyVB, SinghJP, RaoYV, AcharaSB. (1982) Isolation and pharmacological action of heliotrine, the major alkaloid of Heliotropium indicum seeds. Planta Medica, 45, 229–231
22.
(d) CatalfamoJL, MartinWBJr, BireckaH. (1982) Accumulation of alkaloids and their necines in Heliotropium curassavicum, H. spathulatum and H. indicum.Phytochemistry, 21, 2669–2675.
23.
(a) DimoT, RakotonirinaSV, TanPN, AzayJ, DongoE, CrosG. (2002) Leaf methanol extract of Bidens pilosa prevents and attenuates the hypertension induced by high-fructose diet in Wistar rats. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 83, 183–191
24.
(b) ChiangYM, ChunagDY, WangSY, KuoYH, TaiPW, ShyurLF. (2004) Metabolite profiling and chemoprotective bioactivity of plant extracts from Bidens pilosa. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 95, 409–419.
25.
(a) SinghD, AgarwalSK. (1988) Himachalol and β-himachalene, insecticidal principles of Himalayan cedarwood oil. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 14, 1145–1551
26.
(b) BadrS, MohamedA, AbdellahF, AbdelazizC, MohamedT. (2006) Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of essential oils extracted from fractional hydrodistillation of Cedrus atlantica Manetti wood. Acta Botanica Gallica, 153, 97–104
27.
(c) GoutamMP, PurohitRM (1974) Antibacterial properties of some essential oils. Riechstoffe Aromen.Koerperpflegemittel, 24, 70–71
28.
(d) TothM, CsonkaE, BarteltJR, CosseAA, ZilkowskiBW, MutoSE, MoriK. (2005) Pheromonal activity of compounds identified from male Phyllotreta cruciferae: Field tests of racemic mixtures, pure enantiomers, and combinations with allyl isothiocyanate. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 31, 2705–2720.
29.
(a) ZhiqingC, HuijinW, DianC, DaishuiX. (1992) Study of the chemical constituents of essential oil from Cajanus cajan.Fenxi Ceshi Tongbao, 11, 9–12
30.
(b) GuptaGL, NigamSS, SastrySD, ChakravartiKK. (1969) Investigations on the essential oil from Cajanus cajan. Perfumery and Essential Oil Record, Nov./Dec., 329–336.
31.
TsaknisJ, LalasS. (2002) Characterization of Moringa oleifera seed oil variety “Periyakulam 1″. Journal of Food Compositional Analysis, 15, 65–77.
32.
ChuangP-H, LeeC-W, ChouJ-Y, MuruganM, ShiehB-J, ChinH-M. (2007) Antifungal activity of crude extracts and essential oil of Moringa oleifera Lam. Bioresources Technology, 98, 232–236.
33.
MachanT, KorthJ, LiawruangrathB, LiawruangrathS, PyneSG. (2006) Composition and antituberculosis activity of the volatile oil of Heliotropium indicum Linn. growing in Phitsanulok, Thailand. Flavour and Flagrance Journal, 21, 265–267.
34.
FarahD, TranDX, MasaakiY, ShinkichiT. (2008) Chemical composition and antioxidant, antibacterial and antifungal activities of the essential oils from Bidens pilosa Linn. var. radiata. Food Control, 19, 346–352.
35.
Brombone-GuaratiniMT, Silva-BrandaoKL, SolferiniVN, SemirJ, TrigoJR. (2005) Sesquiterpene and polyacetylene profile of the Bidens pilosa complex (Asteraceae: Heliantheae) from southeast of Brazil. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology, 33, 479–486.
36.
ZolloPHA, KuiatéJR, MenutC, LamatyG, BessiéreJM, ChalchatJC, GarrRPh. (1995) Aromatic plants of tropical Central Africa. Part XX. The occurrence of 1-phenylhepta-1,3,5-triyne in the essential oil of Bidens pilosa L. from Cameroon. Flavour and Fragrance Journal, 10, 97–100.
37.
(a) AdamsRP (1995) Identification of Essential Oil Components by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry.Allured Publishing Corporation, Carol Stream, USA
38.
(b) StehagenE, AbrahamssonS, McLaffertyFW (1974) Registry of Mass Spectral Data.John Wiley & Sons, New York
39.
(c) DaviesNW (1990) Gas chromatographic retention indices of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes on Methyl silicone and Carbowax 20M phases. Journal of Chromatography, 503, 1–24.
