Essential oils composition of Stachys byzantina, S. inflata, S. lavandulifolia and S. laxa from Iran

The essential oils of the dried flowering aerial parts of Stachys byzantina, Stachys inflata, Stachys lavandulifolia and Stachys laxa (Labiatae) collected from the suburb of Behshahr, Mazandaran province (north of Iran), in May 2003, were isolated by hydrodistillation and analysed by means of GC and GC–MS. The major components of S. byzantina oil were piperitenone (9.9%), 6,10,14‐trimethyl pentadecan‐2‐one (6.4%), and n‐tricosane (6.4%). The main constituents of S. inflata oil were hexadecanoic acid (9.1%), germacrene D (8.9%), α‐pinene (5.8%) and bicyclogermacrene (5.1%). The major compounds of S. lavandulifolia oil were 4‐hydroxy‐4‐methyl‐2‐pentanone (9.3%), α‐pinene (7.9%) and hexadecanoic acid (5.2%). The main components of S. laxa oil were germacrene D (17.1%), 4‐hydroxy‐4‐methyl‐2‐pentanone (12.3%), 7‐epi‐α‐selinene (8.3%), bicyclogermacrene (6.7%), β‐caryophyllene (6.2%) and α‐pinene (5.9%). Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.