Chemical Composition of Essential Oil of Amomum xanthioides Wall. ex Baker from Northern Vietnam

Abstract

The essential oil from leaves, roots, stems, and fruits of Amomum xanthioides Wall. ex Baker from Northern Vietnam was obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography techniques. The yield of the essential oil obtained from leaves, roots, stems, and fruits of A. xanthioides was 0.26%, 0.24%, 0.19%, and 1.45% (w/w) by fresh weight, respectively. The composition of the oil samples was compared; 38, 43, 28, and 22 compounds have been identified in the essential oil of leaves, roots, stems, and fruits, accounting for 96.19%, 96.61%, 98.39%, and 98.12% of the total oil content, respectively. A high variation among organs for the majority of compounds was shown. β-elemene (31.71%), δ-cadinene (10.69%), germacrene D (9.55%), bicycloelemene (8.12%), and bicyclogermacrene (7.93%) are the main compounds in leaves, while β-pinene (29.59%), terpinen-4-ol (10.77%), and α-terpinene (6.96%) are identified as the main compounds in roots. Stems are characterized by high levels of β-elemene (29.58%), spathoulenol (26.89%), and bicycloelemene (6.19%). For fruits, bornyl acetate (37.21%), camphor (19.48%), camphene (14.62%), and limonene (9.64%) are the main compounds. Overall, this study confirms that changes in the yield, composition, and concentration of the essential oil may be caused by several factors such as environmental conditions and climate at the collection site, the time of collection, and the age and properties of plants. This study also provides new data on the chemical composition of the essential oil from A. xanthioides collected from Northern Vietnam.