Chemical Constituents of Essential Oils from Three Eucalyptus Species Acclimatized in Ethiopia and Kenya

Abstract

Essential oils obtained by steam distillation of three Eucalyptus species acclimatized in Ethiopia and Kenya were analyzed using GC and GC-MS. The species were Eucalyptus citriodora, Eucalyptus globulus and Eucalyptus camaldulensis. Results showed that the oils from E. globulus and E. citriodora from trees grown in the two countries were quite comparable. The major component of the essential oil of E. globulus was 1,8-cineole while that for E. citriodora was citronellal. The oils from E. camaldulensis grown in the two countries, however, were found to differ. While trees from Kenya afforded an oil rich in 1,8-cineole, those from Ethiopia yielded pcymene and cryptone as major components. Oils from E. camaldulensis grown in two different locations in Ethiopia were also found to vary in their p-cymene content; one had 35 % while the other gave 21.2 %.