Chemical diversity of essential oils of Lantana camara L. native populations.

The aim of this work was to analyse the chemical diversity of Lantana camara L. essential oils of native populations from Northeast Brazil. A total of 105 plants were collected in twenty-one municipalities from the state of Sergipe. The essential oil content ranged from 0.1% to 0.5%. Twenty-nine compounds and seven chemical clusters were identified and characterised by different numbers of plants and major compounds. E-caryophyllene (4.1–53.4%), germacrene D (2.8–48.3%), bicyclogermacrene (0.0–18.9%), α-humulene (0.7–39.0%) and α-curcumene (24.9–34.3%) were found in higher amounts and formed the chemical clusters. Results revealed chemical variability among L. camara native populations from Northeast Brazil. This knowledge was fundamental for the implantation of a collection of L. camara in the Active Germplasm Bank of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of the Federal University of Sergipe and will allow studies on the potential biological activities of the essential oil from conserved plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]