Chemical composition of the essential oil ofNigella orientalis L. seeds

Abstract

The essential oil isolated by hydrodistillation from the seeds of Nigella orientalis L. was analysed by GC–MS. Among 18 identified compounds, the major components were β-elemene (68.8%), δ-cadinene (5.2%), β-selinene (4.3%), and α-selinene (3.3%). The oil predominantly contained sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (90.3%). Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.