Essential Oils of the Leaves of the Raukaua Genus (Araliaceae)

Abstract

The Raukaua genus of the family Araliaceae consists of 3 species, R. anomalus, R. edgerleyi and R. simplex, all endemic to New Zealand. The essential oil of R. edgerleyi and R. simplex consisted largely of monoterpenes. Limonene was the most abundant (23%) in R. edgerleyi and myrcene the most abundant (34%) in R. simplex. The oil of R. simplex lacked any significant sesquiterpenoids whereas bicyclogermacrene constituted 12% of the oil of R. edgerleyi. The oil of R. anomalus contained monoterpenes in low abundance and the sesquiterpenoids germacrene-B (15%) and γ-muurolene (16%) dominated the composition of this oil. The oil of R. edgerleyi had a pleasant fresh green aroma but the low yields of all three oils excluded them from potential commercial use.