Aromatic Plants of French Polynesia. I. Constituents of the Essential Oils of Rhizomes of Three Zingiberaceae:<i>Zingiber zerumbet</i>Smith,<i>Hedychium coronarium</i>Koenig and<i>Etlingera cevuga</i>Smith

Abstract

The essential oils from the rhizomes of &lt;i&gt;Zingiber zerumbet, Hedychium coronarium&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;Etlingera cevuga&lt;/i&gt; from Tahiti Island were studied by capillary GC and GC/MS. The oil of Z. &lt;i&gt;zerumbet was&lt;/i&gt; found to be rich in oxygenated derivatives of α-humulene, in particular zerumbone (65.3%), while &lt;i&gt;H. coronium&lt;/i&gt; oil contained β-pinene (24.8%) and 1, 8-cineole (40.2%) as major constituents. The oil of &lt;i&gt;E. cevuga&lt;/i&gt; possessed a characteristic chemical composition where methyl eugenol (47.4%) and (Z)- and (E)-methyl isoeugenol (18.8%) together accounted for more than 60% of the oil.