Aromatic Plants of Tropical Central Africa. XIII. Rhizomes Volatile Components of Two Zingiberales from the Central African Republic

The water-distilled oils obtained from rhizomes of two Zingiberales (Zingiber officinale Roscoe-Zingiberaceae and Sarcophrynium prionogonium K.Schum.—Marantaceae) from the Central African Republic were examined by GC and GC/MS. Z. officinale oil presents a classical chemical composition with a high rate of citral (34.6%) and 1,8-cineole (10.4%) among the monoterpenes. The oil of S. prionogonium is characterized by a high proportion of camphor (31%) along with isoborneol (8.5%) and borneol (3.7%).