Essential Oils of Juglans regia Green and Yellow Leaves

Abstract

Background/Objective: Juglans regia trees grow all over the Balkan peninsula and their fruit is used in human nutrition. The essential oil of J. regia leaves depends on seasonal and vegetational development. The objective of this study was to analyze the essential oil of J. regia green and yellow leaves and to determine the differences in chemical composition. Methods: The essential oils of green and yellow J. regia leaves were obtained by hydrodistillation. The chemical composition of the obtained essential oils was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results: The essential oil yield from green leaves was 0.02% and the yellow leaves yielded 0.01%. The essential oils obtained had different chemical composition. The main components of the essential oil of the green leaves were: sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (38.5%), oxygenated sesquiterpenes (23.3%), and monoterpene hydrocarbons (22.5%). The principal components of the yellow leaves essential oil were oxygenated sesquiterpenes (75.2%). Conclusion: The results obtained indicated a significant difference in the essential oil chemical composition of green and yellow leaves due to the irreversibility of senescence.