Composition of the essential oil of Centaurea behen L.(Asteraceae) from Turkey.

Abstract

Turkey is one of the main centres of diversity for the genus Centaurea L. It is also the third largest genus, in terms of species numbers in Turkey, where 187 taxa in 34 sections occur mainly in the Mediterranean and Irano-Turanian regions. The essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation of the aerial parts of Centaurea behen (Asteraceae) from Turkey was analyzed by GC and GC/MS system. Fourty eight components, representing (87.5%) of the oils, were characterized by a higher content of sesquiterpenes. The main components were caryophyllene oxide (15.9%), spathulenol (11.4%), The Second International Symposium on the Biology of Rare and Endemic Plant Species germacrene D (6.6%) and allo-aromadendrene (6.1%). The results were discussed with the genus pattern in terms of chemotaxonomy and renewable resources.