GC/MS analysis of the volatile constituents from Arum cyreniacum flowers

Abstract

Arum cyreniacum (family Araceae) is a Libyan plant have many medicinal uses. The volatile constituents of the flowers of the plant were extracted separately with two different solvents (n-hexane and chloroform). The two volatiles were analyzed using GC/MS. It was found that the volatile constituents of the flowers extracted with n-hexane consists of 32 compounds in which, the oxygenated monoterpenes is the most abundant class (51.43%) with 1,8-cineole as a major compound (43.32%), while the chloroform extract substantiated the presence of esters hydrocarbons and sterols as main groups (44.95%, 30.38% and 16.05% respectively).