Composition of the Essential Oil of<i>Vitex agnus-castus</i>L.

Abstract

ABSTRACT Oils of Vitex agnus-castus L., which were obtained by hydrodistillation of the leaves, flowers and fruits, were analyzed by capillary GC. Plants were harvested along the Adriatic coast and from some off-shore islands. The oils were qualitatively similar although there were quantitative differences between them. The leaf oil was rich in 1.8-cineole + limonene (22.42–30.92%), sabinene (15.00–19.16%) and α-pinene (4.32–6.48%), the flower oil contained 1,8-cineole + limonene (12.18–18.43%), sabinene (9.34–9.99%) and α-pinene (2.01–12.00%), while the fruit oil contained 1,8-cineole + limonene (20.73–23.36%), sabinene (16.09–22.28%) and α-pinene (6.60–19.73%). The characteristic odor of the oil was not identified.