Chemical composition of essential oil and rose-water extract of Himalayan Musk Rose (Rosa brunonii Lindl.) from Kumaon region of western Himalaya

Rosa brunonii Lindl. (Rosaceae) is commonly known as 'Himalayan musk rose' or 'Kunja'. Leaf, flower, bark and root of the plant are used in traditional medicine. The aim of this study was to characterize the aroma constituents of flower essential oil and hydrolate (rose-water) extract of R. brunonii growing abundantly in Kumaon region of western Himalaya. Altogether, fifty-two constituents, forming 93.5% of the total oil composition were identified using gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and GC-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Major constituents of the oil were eugenol (23.9%), geraniol (19.2%), n-heneicosane (7.7%), n-nonadecane (6.4%) and alpha-pinene (5.7%). However, main constituents of the rose-water extract were eugenol (52.0%), geraniol (13.3%), phenyl ethyl alcohol (9.4%), n-heneicosane (4.5%) and n-tricosane (3.0%).