Composition of Leaf, Fruit and Gall Essential Oils of Algerian Pistacia atlantica Desf.

Pistacia atlantica Desf. is widely distributed in South Algeria. It is a medicinal and foodstuff plant. Decoctions of leaves and fruits are used against stomach ache and caught. Ripe fruits are components of tonic sweets. Essential oils from leaves, fruits and galls of P. atlantica, analyzed by GC/FID, GC/MS and 13C-NMR, were dominated by monoterpene hydrocarbons, α-pinene (32.6-54.7%) and β-pinene (8.0-20.2%) being the major components. Sesquiterpenes accounted for 14.1-21.7% in leaf oils, 3.6% in fruit oil and 4.8% in gall oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]