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Composition of the essential oil of Ocimum canum grown in Rwanda

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Abstract

The essential oil from leaves and flowers ofOcimum canum Sims, growing wild in Rwanda, was investigated by LSC, GLC and GC-MS. All samples were characterized by a high content of linalool (60–90%). Neither camphor nor citral and methyl cinnamate, compounds reported to be characteristic for different types ofO. canum, could be detected. All monoterpene hydrocarbons were present in minor amounts (<1.5%). The oil samples with the lowest linalool content consisted of relatively large amounts of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons such as bergamotene (about 10%) and Β-caryophyllene (about 5%). Oct-1-en-3-ol and 3-octanol were the only oxygen-containing components, besides linalool, that amounted to more than 1% in most of the oil samples.

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Dedicated to Prof. Dr. A. Baerheim Svendsen on the occasion of his 65th birthday.

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Ntezurubanza, L., Scheffer, J.J.C. & Looman, A. Composition of the essential oil of Ocimum canum grown in Rwanda. Pharmaceutisch Weekblad Scientific Edition 7, 273–276 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01959201

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01959201

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