ESSENTIAL OILS OF LEAVES, FLOWERS AND FRUITS OF ASTRAGALUS GOMBIFORMIS POMEL (FABACEAE)

Astragalus species are medicinal and toxic plants, and many of them have been studied before. Astragalus gombiformis Pomel is a spontaneous desertic plant of Tunisian flora.
This plant is of moderate appetability, probably in view of the presence of many volatile compounds toxic for livestock.
In this study, we extract and analyze, for the first time, the essential oil of this plant.
The oils are extracted by hydrodistillation from different organs and analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) using a capillary colonne HP-5MS. The essential oil composition seems to be complex and varied between flowering and fructification stages.
The main compounds are: 6,10,14-triméthylpentadecan-2-one, hexadecanoic acid, phytol and dillapiole.
Many volatiles of interest are identified such as butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), an antioxidant compound.
Other compounds which can be responsible for toxicity are identified with different amounts between organs, such as caprolactam and benzeneacetonitrile.

International Symposium on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants – SIPAM2009

H. Teyeb, S. Zouari, W. Douki, M.F. Najjar, M. Neffati

phytol, dillapiole, “Helbet Elbel”, GC/MS, flowering, fructification, volatile compounds

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2010.853.30