Essential oil composition of Gliricidia sepium (Leguminosae) leaves and flowers

Abstract

Forty two known compounds have been found in the leaves and flowers of Gliricidia sepium. Of these, sixteen have been identified and quantified from the leaf essential oil by GC and twenty six have been identified and quantified from the flower essential oil by GC-MS analysis. The major compounds of the leaf oil are found to be propyleneglycol (25.1%), coumarin (18.2%), (Z)-3-hexenol] (17.7%), β-farnesene (14.2%) and (E)-2-hexenol (6.5%); and coumarin (43.1%), hydroquinone (21.6%) and myrtenol (12.7%) in the flower oil. In the light of the toxicity of coumarin and hydroquinone, this finding is a warning signal against the use of the leaves as fumigant against mosquitoes and the flower as a food material.