Aromatic Plants of Mali (IV): Chemical Composition of Essential Oils of Cymbopogon citratus (DC) Stapf and C. giganteus (Hochst.) Chiov.

Abstract The composition of the essential oils of Cymbopogon citratus and C. giganteus from Mali and the Ivory Coast were determined by GC and GC/MS, and they were found to contain 19 and 27 constituents, respectively. C. citratus oil from Mali contained a high proportion of citral (approx. 75%) (geranial/neral ca 2/1), some myrcene (6.2–9.1%) and geraniol (3.0–5.6%). It differed from the oil of the Ivory Coast in which the contents of geranial, neral and myrcene each ranged between 18–35%. C. giganteus oil was characterized by high proportions of cis- and trans-p-mentha-l(7),8-dien-2-ols (approx. 50%) and p-mentha-2,8-dien-l-ols (approx. 25%) together with isopiperitenol-carveol (approx. 10%) and traces of carvone (<5%).