Chemical composition of Angelica pancicii essential oil determined by liquid and headspace GC-MS techniques

Abstract

The essential oil of the Balkan endemic species, Angelica pancicii, obtained by hydrodistillation, was analyzed by GC and GC-MS, applying the liquid injection mode. These results were compared with the chemical composition of volatiles achieved by the "headspace" injection mode, followed by GC and GC-MS (HS-GC-MS). A total of 40 compounds were identified in the essential oil (98.8% of the total oil) and 44 by HS-GC-MS (99.8% of the total oil). The most abundant class of compounds in both cases was monoterpenoids, which formed 92.7% of the essential oil (97.7% by HS-GC-MS) of total identified compounds. The major components in both cases were β-phellandrene (54.9% and 60.1%, respectively), α-pinene (14.5% and 20.1%, respectively) and α-phellandrene (4.5% and 4.3%, respectively).