Abstract
Litsea cubeba Pel's., locally known as 'mejankari' in Assam, is a secondary host plant of the
'muga silk worm' (Antheraea assama W/w) widely found in Northeast India. The leaves of this plant are aromatic in nature. The essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation of the fresh leaves collected from three locations in Assam. Oil yields werefound to vary from 0.21% to 1.0%. The oils were examined by a combination of high resolution GC and GC/MS. Between 25 and 51 compounds have been identified, accounting for 92-99% of the oils. The major constituent appeared to be sabinene (15.9% to 49.8%). Percentages of sabinene this high in the leaf oil have not been reported earlier.
Other predominant constituents of the oils were limonene (1. 7% to 16.4%), terpinen-4-01 (5.2-11.0%), p-phellandrene (0.0-9.5%) and p-pinene (6.7-9.4%).
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 681-687 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Séricologia |
Volume | 38 |
Issue number | 4 |
Publication status | Published - 1998 |