Variability in the Chemical Composition of Essential Oil Derived from Ocimum basilicum L. var. Minimum over Several Months
Edmundo Arturo Venegas Casanova *
Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, National University of Trujillo, Perú.
Keila Alina Castro Gálvez
Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, National University of Trujillo, Perú.
José Gilberto Gavidia Valencia
Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, National University of Trujillo, Perú.
Segundo Guillermo Ruiz Reyes
Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, National University of Trujillo, Perú.
Yuri Freddy Curo Vallejos
Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, National University of Trujillo, Perú.
Santiago Moisés Benites Castillo
César Vallejo University, Trujillo, Perú.
Armando Cuéllar Cuéllar
Faculty of Pharmacy and Foods, Havana University, Cuba.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Ocimum basilicum L. (‘licorice’ variety) is a plant commonly known as albahaca or basil that is used in a variety of industries around the world. The variability in the chemical composition of the essential oil derived from this plant, gathered in different growing months, is reported herein. The aerial parts, those parts exposed to the air, of O. basilicum L. yielded an average of 0.3% ± 0.25% of the essential oil in the four month period of the evaluation.
Using GC-MS analysis, 107 components were detected in the essential oil, 102 of them were identified (95.3%) and 15 showed a greater than 1% relative yield. Estragol, at 40.6%, and linalool, at 17.8%, were the most important components of the essential oil.
According to the refractive index (1.5230), the essential oil could be classified into the Reunion Type. Based on the relative percentage of the two most important components, estragol and linalool, the essential oil could be classified as European Type 1, and considering the possible chemo type based on the percentage of estragol, the classification corresponded to the BA Type.
This is the first time that an evaluation of the changing chemical composition of the essential oil derived from O. basilicum over four consecutive months has been published.
Keywords: Ocimum, basil, essential oils.