Chemical composition of the essential oil of Ruta chalepensis L: Influence of drying, hydro-distillation duration and plant parts

The essential oils of the dried aerial parts of Ruta chalepensis collected from the north of Tunisia were recovered by hydro-distillation with approximately 5.51% yield on a dry weight basis. The effects of drying and hydro-distillation duration on the chemical composition of the essential oils were studied. The obtained essential oils of the different parts of the herb were analyzed by GC-MS and 13 major compounds were identified. The main ones are 2-undecanone (77.18%), 2-decanone (8.96%) and 2-dodecanone (2.37%). 2-Undecanone was shown to be the unique component (100%) of the essential oil obtained from R. chalepensis flowers. Pulegone was identified only in the essential oil of the stems (about 32.11%) and camphor was identified exclusively in the essential oil of leaves (2.46%).The identification of the components of R. chalepensis essential oil should contribute to the understanding of the pharmacological activities of the herb. © 2010 Elsevier B.V.