Essential oil composition of <i>Syzygium aromaticum</i> leaf from Little Andaman, India

Abstract

Abstract The cloves are grown as plantation crops in the agroclimatic conditions of the Indian island of Little Andaman. The dried leaves, on hydrodistillation, gave 4.8% of the oil. GC and GC–MS analysis of the oil resulted in the identification of 16 compounds. The major compound was eugenol (94.4%) followed by β‐caryophyllene (2.9%). The clove oil from Little Andaman was found to be comparable with the best oil produced in south India in terms of its eugenol content. It is suggested that clove can be grown as an economically viable crop in the Andaman, Nicobar and Lakshdeep islands. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.