Volatile organic compounds of leaves and flowers of Montanoa tomentosa

Montanoa tomentosa is a valued plant due to its medicinal properties, mainly as a menstruation and childbirth inducer. The volatile constituents of the aerial parts (leaves and flowers) of this medicinal plant were analysed by SPME-GC-MS. The major constituents of the volatile fraction were monoterpenes, such sabinene, alpha-pinene and alpha-thujene, which accounted for 65% of the total fraction. Other identified compounds were sesquiterpenes, like alpha-gurjunene, caryophyllene and germacrene D, but in minor amount. The total proportion of identified compounds was 86.7% (17 volatiles) and 82.1% (14 volatiles) for leaves and flowers, respectively. Some of the most abundant terpenes found in this plant are well known for their relevant roles in the environment and in many industrial applications. The characterization of volatile from M. tomentosa is established in this study for the first time, therefore their utility in different aspects, opens an interesting area to carry out further investigation of the plant. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.