Chemical Composition of the Essential Oils of Six Hypericum Species (Hypericaceae) from Iran

The genus Hypericum is one of the most important medicinal plants that contain 17 species in Iran, three of them are endemics. This paper reports the essential oil composition of six Hypericum species from Iran. The essential oil analysis of a number of the studied plants has already been reported but their report from Iran may be valuable for scientists. Samples collected between June and August 2007. The composition of the essential oils from Hypericum was investigated on flower and leaf. Essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation method and then were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Main components obtained in H. dogonbadanicum (endemic of Iran) on flower were phenyl ethyl octanoate(29.0%), terpin-4-ol (20.0%), and ?-phellandrene (12.9%), and on leaf were ?-pinene (54.3%), ?-pinene (12.0%) and p-cymene (11.0%), in H. helianthemoides on flower were ?-pinene (55.9%), Z-?-ocimene (8.7%) and ?-pinene (7.5%), and in H. hyssopifolium on flower were ?-pinene (49.5%), ?-pinene (12.9%) and n-tetradecan (5.2%) and on leaf were E-nerolidol (21.0%), n-tetradecane (15.8%) and ?-himachalene(13.3%), in H. lysimachioides on flower were ?-pinene (55.0%), Z-?-ocimene (30.7%) and n-tetradecane (2.7%), in H. perforatumon flower were E-?-farnesene (14.7%), n-hexadecanal (9.1%) and E-nerolidol (7.8%), and in H. triquetrifolium on flower were n-tetradecane (21.3%), ?-himachalene (14.2%) and ?-pinene (10.7%), and on leaf were ?-himachalen (27%), n-tetradecane (25.7%) and n-pentadecane (7.0%).