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Background/Objective:Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentataNutt., Asteraceae) is a conspicuous shrub growing in arid and semi-arid regions of intermountain western North America, from eastern Washington and Oregon, through Nevada, Idaho, and Utah, into northern Arizona and New Mexico, and east as far as the western Dakotas, and Colorado. At least three subspecies of A. tridentatahave been recognized, including A. tridentatasubsp. tridentataNutt. (basin big sagebrush), A. tridentatasubsp. wyomingensisBeetle & A.L.Young (Wyoming big sagebrush), and A. tridentatasubsp. vaseyana(Rydb.) Beetle (mountain big sagebrush). Although big sagebrush is an important food source and cover for several animal species, the volatile phytochemistry has shown wide variation in composition. The purpose of this work was to compare and contrast the essential oil compositions of the three subspecies of A. tridentatagrowing in southwestern Idaho. Methods/Results:Several samples of A. tridentatasubsp. wyomingensisand A. tridentatasubsp. vaseyanawere collected, the essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation using a Likens-Nickerson apparatus in yields of 2.33%-4.45% and 0.90%-1.73%, respectively, and the essential oils analyzed by gas chromatographic techniques. Although A. tridentatashows wide variation in essential oil compositions, multivariate analysis (hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis) indicated A. tridentatasubsp. tridentatato be characterized by high concentrations of yomogi alcohol (5.8%-30.8%) and camphor (5.2%-20.1%), while camphor was the defining component in A. tridentatasubsp. wyomingensis(10.0%-30.1%) and subsp. vaseyana(16.1%-40.2%). One sample of A. tridentatasubsp. vaseyanawas dominated by α-thujone (76.1%), however. Conclusion:There is much variation in essential oil compositions of A. tridentata, both within subspecies and between geographical locations; much additional investigation is necessary to more fully characterize the volatile phytochemistry of this plant.

Background:Spanish sage (Salvia officinalissubsp. lavandulifolia[Vahl] Gams) is historically an important medicinal plant with a myriad of uses. Methods:In this work, 11 S officinalissubsp. lavandulifoliaessential oils (EOs) from Spain were prepared by steam distillation and characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography–flame ionization detection (GC-FID). Results:The main components of S officinalissubsp. lavandulifoliaEOs were 1,8-cineole (24.34%-33.96%), camphor (23.48%-28.83%) followed by camphene (4.93%-6.43%) and α-pinene (4.29%-6.61%). Enantiomeric analysis of the EOs by chiral gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (CGC-MS) revealed the presence of 17 chiral compounds. Moreover, a hierarchical cluster analysis using the data reported in the literature and those obtained from this study uncovered 3 different chemotypes based on the relative concentrations of the major components. Conclusion:The chiral compounds found in the EO can be used in Spanish sage authentication.

The essential oils from the leaves and twigs of Juniperus horizontalisand Juniperus scopulorum, growing in southwestern Idaho, were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography–flame ionization detection (GC(FID)). The major components in the essential oil of J horizontaliswere α-pinene, 16.9%, predominantly ( + )-α-pinene; sabinene, 37.1%, exclusively ( + )-sabinene; myrcene, 5.0%; and terpinene-4-ol, predominantly ( + )-terpinen-4-ol. The essential oil of J scopulorumwas rich in sabinene, 29.8%, exclusively ( + )-sabinene; terpinene-4-ol, 13.2%, nearly racemic; α-elemol, 9.7%; and 8α-acetoxyelemol, 6.4%. In addition, 12 commercial Juniperus communisfruit essential oils were analyzed by chiral GC-MS. α-Pinene showed considerable variation in enantiomeric distribution, depending on geographical location. The dominant enantiomer of sabinene in J communisessential oils was ( + )-sabinene.

Members of the Abiesgenus (Pinaceae) have been used in traditional medicines in their natural ranges, and essential oils derived from Abiesspecies have found use in aromatic therapy. In this work, the foliar (leaves and twigs) essential oil of Abies concolorhave been obtained from mature trees growing in southwestern Idaho and analyzed using gas chromatographic techniques. The essential oils were rich in α-pinene (15.2-20.5%), camphene (7.5-10.2%), β-pinene (24.2-25.6%), δ-3-carene (5.5-6.5%), limonene (5.4-6.9%), and bornyl acetate (14.6-22.1%). The dominant enantiomers for the major terpenoids were (+)-α-pinene, (–)-camphene, (–)-β-pinene, (+)-δ-3-carene, (–)-limonene, and (–)-bornyl acetate. The essential oil compositions are qualitatively similar to other Abiesspecies, but the enantiomeric distributions for α-pinene, β-pinene, and camphene did reveal notable variation between Abiesessential oils.

The essential oil from the aerial parts of Blumea laceracollected from Biratnagar, Nepal, has been obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The major component from the oil, (Z)-lachnophyllum ester, was isolated by preparative silica gel chromatography. B. laceraoil was dominated by (Z)-lachnophyllum ester (25.5%), (Z)-lachnophyllic acid (17.0%), germacrene D (11.0%), (E)-β-farnesene (10.1%), bicyclogermacrene (5.2%), (E)-caryophyllene (4.8%), and (E)-nerolidol (4.2%). Also detected in the oil were (E)-lachnophyllic acid (3.3%) and (E)-lachnophyllum ester (1.7%). (Z)-Lachnophyllum ester exhibited cytotoxic activity against MDA-MD-231, MCF-7, and 5637 human tumor cells, as well as antibacterial and antifungal activity.

The essential oil from the dried rhizome of Nardostachys grandiflora, collected from Jaljale, Nepal, was obtained in 1.4% yield, and a total of 72 compounds were identified constituting 93.8% of the essential oil. The rhizome essential oil of N. grandiflorawas mostly composed of calarene (9.4%), valerena-4,7(11)-diene (7.1%), nardol A (6.0%), 1(10)-aristolen-9-ol (11.6%), jatamansone (7.9%), valeranal (5.6%), and cis-valerinic acid (5.7%). The chemical composition of N. grandiflorarhizome oil from Nepal is qualitatively very different than those from Indian, Chinese, and Pakistani Nardostachysessential oils. In this study we have evaluated the chemical composition and biological activities of N. grandiflorafrom Nepal. Additionally, 1(10)-aristolen-9-ol was isolated and the structure determined by NMR, and represents the first report of this compound from N. grandiflora. N. grandiflorarhizome oil showed in-vitroantimicrobial activity against Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans(MIC = 156 μg/mL), as well as in-vitrocytotoxic activity on MCF-7 cells.

This work examines the biological activity of essential oils of Cinnamomum camphoraleaves, C. glaucescensfruit, and C. tamalaroot from Nepal. The oils were screened for phytotoxic activity against lettuce and perennial ryegrass, brine shrimp lethality, and antibacterial, antifungal, cytotoxic, insecticidal, and nematicidal activities. C. camphoraleaf essential oil was phytotoxic to lettuce, antifungal to Aspergillus niger, and insecticidal, particularly toward midge and butterfly larvae, fruit flies, and fire ants. C. camphoraoil was also toxic to brine shrimp and human breast tumor cells. C. glaucescensfruit essential oil showed notable nematicidal activity, as well as termiticidal and mosquito larvicidal activity. The root essential oil of C. tamalawas toxic to mosquito larvae and fire ants.

Four essential oils from the leaf (P23) and rhizomes (P19, P22, P24) of Acorus calamusL., collected from various parts of Nepal, were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC-MS. From a total of 61 peaks, 57 compounds were identified among the four essential oils accounting for 94.3%, 96.2%, 97.6%, and 94.1% of the oils, respectively. All of the essential oils were dominated by (Z)-asarone (78.1%–86.9%). The essential oils also contained (E)-asarone (1.9%–9.9%) and small amounts of γ-asarone (2.0–2.3%), (Z)-methyl isoeugenol (1.5–2.0%), and linalool (0.2–4.3%). Allelopathic testing of the rhizome oil showed inhibition of seed germination of Lactuca sativaand Lolium perennewith IC50values of 450 and 737 μg/mL, respectively. The rhizome essential oil demonstrated stronger seedling growth inhibition of L. perennethan of L. sativa, however. The rhizome oil also showed notable brine shrimp lethality (LC50= 9.48 μg/mL), cytotoxic activity (92.2% kill on MCF-7 cells at 100 μg/mL), and antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger(MIC = 19.5 μg/mL).