Chemical composition of the essential oils of two Chinese endemic Meconopsis species.

The essential oils from two Chinese endemic Meconopsis species, i. e., M. punicea and M. delavayi, were analyzed by using GC-MS for the first time. The major constituents were hexadecanoic acid (16.8%), 1,2-dimethyl naphthalene (11.4%), 1,4-dimethyl naphthalene (6.6%), 1,3-dimethyl-5-ethyl naphthalene (5.9%), and 3-methyl biphenyl (5.6%) for M. punicea, and hexadecanoic acid (9.9%), 1,2-dimethyl naphthalene (7.9%), 1,3-dimethyl-5-ethyl naphthalene (6.2%), tetradecane (5.9%), and hexyl cinnamaldehyde (5.5%) for M. delavayi.