Baeckea <i>frutescens</i> leaf oil from Vietnam: composition and chemical variability

Abstract

Abstract Four essential oils obtained from the aerial parts of Baeckea frutescens harvested in three provinces of Vietnam were analysed using GC, GC–MS and NMR spectroscopy. Forty‐seven components, which represented 90–97% of the global composition, were identified. Two samples were characterized by the pre‐eminence of tasmanone, a non‐terpenic triketone, which accounted for 22.9% and 24.3%, respectively, of the chemical com‐position and which was fully characterized using two‐dimensional NMR spectroscopy. The two remaining samples were respectively characterized by high contents of p ‐cymene, α ‐thujene and 1,8‐cineole for one sample and β ‐pinene, 1,8‐cineole and α ‐pinene for the second sample. From these results and the literature data, it appears that B. frutescens essential oil exhibits high chemical variability. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.