THE CONSTITUENTS OF ESSENTIAL OILS OF FERULAGO ANGULATA (SCHLECHT.) BOISS AT TWO DIFFERENT HABITATS, NEVAKOH AND SHAHOO, ZAGROSS MOUNTAIN, WESTERN IRAN

Ferulago angulata (Apiaceae), a medicinal plant of western Asia, contains essential oils that are used as a food preservative. This study examined and compared the composition of leaf oil with seed oil and of the oils from two different habitats (one from Nevakov and the other from Shahoo). The oil yield from seed was 5-fold that from leaves (3.2%/100g compared to 0.63%/100g). Cis-ocimene was the major constituent of the seed oil from both regions (64.8% and 76.11%) and a prominent constituent ( > 20% of the total oil) of the leaf oils of both habitats. ?-Pinene was the next main component (7-27%) of all 4 oils. Seed oils, with one major component (cis-ocimene), differed from the leaf oils, which were composed mostly of 3 components (?-pinene, cis-ocimene, & germacrene D). Distinctions between the oils of the two habitats were less marked than the leaf-oil/seed-oil differences; the cis-ocimene content was higher and ?-pinene was less in both seed- and leaf-oils of the Shahoo habitats than the Nevakoh ecotype; trans-verbenol was absent from the Shahoo leaves, but reached a content of 5.8% in Nevahoh leaf-oil. Further distinctions were found in the content/presence/absence of 20-30 minor components of the oils.