African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 5 (12), pp. 1220-1226, 16 June 2006   

ISSN 1684–5315 © 2006 Academic Journals        

Full Length Research Paper

Variation in the essential oil constituents of Pteronia incana (Asteraceae)

B. Mayekiso¹, M.L Magwa² and R.M Coopoosamy¹*

¹Department of Botany, ²Electron Microscopic Unit, University of Fort Hare, Private Bag X1314, ALICE, 5700, Eastern Cape, SOUTH AFRICA

*Corresponding author. E-mail: rcoopoosamy@ufh.ac.za; Tel: +27 40 602 2325. Fax: +27 40 602 2323.

Accepted 10 May, 2006

The essential oil of Pteronia incana was collected and was investigated on a monthly basis using GC-MS. The oil volume and its constituents vary greatly with different time of sampling and distillation. The oil contains a high percentage of myrcene a-pinene, b-pinene with sabinene, a-terpinene, 1.8 cineole and limonene.

Key word:  Pteronia incana, Asteracea, essential oil.