Composition of the essential oil from the flowers ofSolandra maxima(Sessé & Moc.) P.S. Green

Dried flowers from Solandra maxima were hydrodistilled yielding 0.3% of essential oil; the yield could be slightly increased when the flowers were subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis using β-glucosidase prior to hydrodistillation. The two samples were subjected to a comparative investigation by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. About 70 compounds were identified in both samples, representing more than 95% of the total. The main constituents were linalool (12.4% and 17.9%), methyl salicylate (9.1% and 11.4%), safranal (3.8% and 5.7%), α-terpineol (2.0% and 4.5%), geraniol (2.6% and 3.6%), carvacrol (17.8% and 11.5%), (E)-nerolidol (3.4% and 4.3%) and benzyl salicylate (11.1% and 7.1%). Alcohols, phenols and esters were the major classes, the concentration of alcohols being distinctly higher in the sample obtained after enzymatic hydrolysis. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.