Abstract

The essential oil of three Centaurea L. taxa from Turkey (Centaurea iberica Trev. ex Spreng.- Centaurea solstitialis L. subsp. solstitialis and Centaurea virgata Lam.) which were collected in the same habitat, have been studied. As a result, thirty nine, forty and forty two components were identified representing 90.8, 91.6 and 92.5% of the oil, respectively.Germacrene D (20.3%), caryophyllene oxide (10.7%), β-caryophyllene (10.5%), β-eudesmol (15.5%), bicyclogermacrene (14.2%), spathulenol (11.3%), and germacrene D (21.4%), β-caryophyllene (16.5%), caryophyllene oxide (9.5%) were detected as the main compounds of C. iberica, C. solstitialis subsp. solstitialis and C. virgata, respectively.

Key words: Centaurea, essential oil, germacrene D, caryophyllene oxide, chemotaxonomy.