Chemical composition of the essential oil of Tanacetum polycephalum (Schultz Bip. ssp. heterophyllum)

The oils obtained by steam distillation of the flowers and leaves of Tanacetum polycephalum growing wild in Iran were investigated by a combination of GC and GC–MS. About 10 compounds in the flowers and 10 compounds in the leaves have been identified. The main constituents of the oil of the flowers were camphor (59.1%), camphene (14.9%) and 1,8-cineole (10.1%), whereas the leaves oil comprised mainly camphor (53.5%), bornyl acetate (12.1%), camphene (10.9%), 1,8-cineol (7.8%) and borneol (6.1%). Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.