Essential Oil Constituents of Leaf, Flower and Stem of Melissa officialis L. Grown in Gonbad-Kavus (Iran)

AbstractThe compositions of the essential oils of leaf, flower and stem of Melissa officinalis L. were analyzed by GC-MS. Twenty-seven volatile components in the leaf oil, twenty-eight components in the flower oil, and thirty five components in the stem oil were identified. The main constituents of the leaf oil were: β-caryophyllene oxide (27.8 %), geranial (21.3 %), neral (12.9 %), β-caryophyllene (8.0 %) and geranyl acetate (5.6 %); while the major components of the flower oil were: geranial (27.4 %), neral (18.0 %), β-caryophyllene (15.6 %), β-caryophyllene oxide (7.5 %) and E-cadina-1(6),4-diene (7.1 %). The main constituents of the stem oil were: n-hexadecanoic acid (47.4 %), (Z,Z)-9,12-octadecadienoic acid (14.9 %), dodecanoic acid (4.6 %), β-caryophyllene (4.2 %) and geraniol (2.2 %). Oils of the leaf and flower were almost completely composed of mono- and sesquiterpenoids, while oil of the stem is mainly consisted of the saturated and unsaturated fatty acids as well as some normal saturated hydroc...