Chemical composition of the oil of Chenopodium ambrosioides L. from Iran

Hydro-distilled volatile oil from the aerial parts of Chenopodium ambrosioides L. (Chenopodiaceae) was obtained and the oil was analyzed by a combination of GC and GC/MS. Air-dried aerial parts of Chenopodium ambrosioides (100 g) which were collected from Anzaly in Mazandaran province at full flowering stage on June 2003, were subjected to hydro-distillation for 3.5 h using a Clevenger-type apparatus. The oil was analyzed by a combination of GC (shimadzu GC-9A) and GC/MS (Varian 3400, Saturn II). The oil was isolated by hydro-distillation from the aerial parts of Chenopodium ambrosioides. It was found to be a yellow liquid, obtained in a yield of 1.8% (w/w), based on the dry weight. Eleven components were identified in the essential oil of Chenopodium ambrosioides representing more than 91.2% of the oil, the major components were found to be sabinene hydrate acetate (55%), ?-terpinene (23.8%) and p-cymene (15.5%). The essential oil composition of C. ambrosioides has been reported previously. The major components of C. ambrosioides from Cuba were ?-terpinyl acetate (73.9%) and p-cymene (4.3%). The essential oil from this plant from Nigeria contained ?-terpinene (56%), ?-terpinyl acetate (15.7%) and p-cymene (15.5%). The main compound of C. ambrosioides from Japan was pinocarveol and from Rwanda was ?-terpinene. These results show variation between chemical composition of different localities of C. ambrosioides.