Chemical constituents of the volatile fractions from leaves and flowers of Ocimum urticifolium

Volatile fractions from leaves (0.21 %) and flowers (0.48 %) of Ocimum urticifolium Roth were analysed by GC and GC-MS. Twenty-seven compounds comprising 89.0 % of the leaves oil and fifty-five compounds representing 63.9 % of the flowers oil have been characterised. The main sesquiterpenes found in the leaf oil were delta-cadinene (17.2 %) followed by beta-caryophyllene (14.5 %) and gamma-muurolene (10.5 %), while the monoterpene (Z)-beta-ocimene (22.7 %) and the phenylpropanoid elemicine (8.8 %) were detected as other major oil components. In flower oil, beta-bisabolene (19.2 %) and beta-caryophyllene (10.5 %) were the main sesquiterpenes while linalool (2.3 %), (Z)-beta-ocimene (2.4 %) and camphor (1.5 %) were major monoterpenic hydrocarbons beside elemicine (6.4 %). The presence of elemicine, a biologically active phenylpropanoid compound in these oils, is significant.