Comparative Study of the Constituents of the Essential Oils of Three Cinnamomum Species from Malaysia

The chemical composition of the leaf and bark oils of three Cinnamomum species (C. altissimum Kosterm., C. scortechinii Gamb. and C. microphyllum Ridl.) was examined by co-chromatography with authentic samples on two columns of different polarity, GC/MS and linear retention indices. The leaf and bark oils of C. altissimum were made up mainly of sesquiterpenoids (65.6% and 74.5%). Spathulenol (16.1%) was the major component of C. altissimum leaf oil, while linalool (25.3%) was the most abundant component in the bark oil. Many sesquiterpenoids were also found in the leaf and bark oils of C. scortechinii. However, linalool was the most abundant component, constituting 25.4% and 10.6% of the leaf and the bark oils, respectively. The leaf and bark oils of C. microphyllum are potential natural sources of benzyl benzoate since it constituted up to 90.0% and 92.7% of the leaf and bark oils, respectively.