Essential Oil in the taxonomy of Ocimum selloi Benth

Abstract

Chemical composition analysis of the essential oil from the leaves and flowers of two accessions of Ocimum selloi Benth, cultivated at the Federal University of Viçosa was carried out. For accession A the major component was identified as estragole and represented 94,95% and 92,54% of the oil from the leaves and flowers respectively. For accession B, the oil from the leaves and flowers was constituted by 65,49% and 66,18% of methyleugenol, respectively. For both accessions several minor constituents were also identified. The phenotypic and chemical differences observed between these two accessions suggest the existence of two chemicaly distinct varieties for Ocimum selloi Benth.