Intraspecies Variations in Contents and Composition of Essential Oil from the Leaves of Eucalyptus camaldulensis Trees

This study was aimed to investigate the intraspecies variation of contents and chemical composition of leaf oil, extracted by hydro-distillation method, from fourteen different E. camaldulensis trees. The data suggested significant variations in their oil contents as well as the chemical composition of essential oils. The oil contents from different E. camaldulensis trees were found to be in the range of 0.3-1.17 %, which was above 1 % in 28.6 % trees. The composition of the compounds in the extracted oils varied from 17 to 33 as detected by GC/FID on Carbowax 20M packed glass column. All the oils were found to consists of only two/three major components i.e. α-pinene, α-phalendrene and 1,8 - cineole in the range of 0-7.58 %, 0-36.11 % and 41.6-85.67 % respectively. Oil of two trees (2 and 4) showed the absence of a-pinene and that of five trees were found lacking in α-phalendrene. Present studies showed that E. camaldulensis is a potential source of essential oil and should be further characterized for its constituents to be used for cosmetics, medicinal and pharmacological attributes.