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The present study was aimed to investigate the effect of drying on the essential oil composition and oil content of Ocimum americanum L. For the study, the aerial parts of the plant were collected from Ranikhet, district Almora and dried using different drying methods until constant weight, i.e., sun-drying (26°C ± 5°C), shade-drying (20°C ± 5°C) and oven-drying (at 35°C, 45°C and 55°C). Fresh and dried samples were hydrodistilled using Clevenger apparatus and the essential oil obtained was analyzed by GC and GC/ MS. Essential oil content was found to be the highest for sun dried (0.7%) followed by oven dried at 55°C (0.3%), shade dried (0.2%), oven dried at 35°C (0.2%), oven dried at 45°C (0.1%) and fresh sample (0.1%). 1,8-Cineole (9.14-23.67%), methyl chavicol (5.70-16.34%), β-bisabolene (7.78-29.23%) and (Z)-α-bisabolene (2.32-17.49%) were the common major constituents of all the oils under different drying methods. The essential oil composition and oil yield were greatly affected by drying methods. Sun drying could be used as the most prominent drying method for O. americanum L. A significant amount of camphor (38.34%) and highest essential oil content was present exclusively in the essential oil of sun dried material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The essential oils of ten wild growingOcimum americanumL. of the family Lamiaceae collected from different locations in Uttarakhand, India, were analyzed by capillary gas chromatography (GC) and GC/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). On the basis of chemical composition and cluster analysis,O. americanumwas classified into six groups. Group I was significantly rich in methyl chavicol, 1,8-cineole, (E)-γ-bisabolene, β-bisabolene and eugenol, while group II has (E)-γ-bisabolene, aliphatic hydrocarbons, eugenol, β-bisabolene and methyl chavicol as major constituents. Eugenol and (E)-caryophyllene were found in abundant quantity in group III and linalool with methyl chavicol in group IV. Group V contained aliphatic hydrocarbons, eugenol, camphor and 1,8-cineole in high content while camphor and aliphatic hydrocarbons were found in group VI. Linalool was positively correlated with methyl chavicol, while eugenol with (E)-α-bisabolene and β-bisabolene with (E)-γ-bisabolene. The essential oil composition ofO. amercanumwas found to be affected by variation in soil properties and microclimatic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]