Essential oil composition of the different parts of Eryngium aquifolium from Spain.

The essential oils from the different parts [inflorescences (E.a.I), stems + leaves (E.a.SL) and roots (E.a.R)] of E. aquifolium Cav. gathered in Cádiz (Spain), have been extracted by steam distillation and analyzed by gas chromatography and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Quantitative and qualitative differences have been found between the analyzed plant parts. A total of 107 compounds have been identified. The main constituents were germacrene D (30.3%) and sesquicineole (26.7%) for E.a.I fraction, germacrene D (46.0%) and myrcene (13.8%) in the E.a.SL, while E.a.R showed phyllocladene isomer (63.6%) as a unique major compound. The percentage composition of the other constituents was lower than 5.5% in all the analyzed fractions. In agreement with other Eryngium species, no specific compound could be used as a marker for the chemotaxonomy of E. aquifolium. However, similarities in volatile composition were found between E. aquifolium and other species growing under similar environmental conditions. As far as we know, this is the first report on the essential oil of this species.