Multivariate analysis of the chemical composition of the essential oil from leaves of Melaleuca quinquenervia growing in Cuba

The essential oil of Melaleuca quinquenervia from Cienaga de Zapata, Cuba, obtained at pilot scale with average yield of 0.8%, showed average relative density and refraction index of 0.9253g/ mL and 1.4827 respectively. It's chemical composition determination by gas chromatography coupled to Mass Spectrometry allow identifying 42 compounds, 26 of which were submitted to Principal Components Analysis and to Conglomerates Analysis. Such analyses allowed the separation of the samples into two groups with significant differences (p< 0.05) between the average contents of its main components. From such analyses, it was established the presence of two different chemotypes: one with high contents of viridiflorol (33.8%), followed by 1,8- cineol (21.8%), and another chemotype rich in 1,8- cineol (30,0%) with a relatively high content in viridiflorol (24.6%). Both chemotypes showed similar concentrations of limonene and alpha-pinene monoterpenes.