Volatile constituents of four Inula species of Bulgarian origin

Abstract

In this study the volatile components of four Inula species (Inula germanica L., I. bifrons (L.) L., I. ensifolia L., and I. salicina L.) were analysed by GC-FID/MS. A total of 141 chemical compounds were identified. A distinct volatile chemical profiles with high variation in the type of compounds was observed. Inula germanica was rich in oxygenated monoterpenes (54.7%), with cis-carvyl acetate (20.7%) and 1,8-cineole (14.6%) as main components. Sesquiterpenoids dominated in I. bifrons (60.3%), while the relatively high percentage of fatty acids characterized the other two species I. ensifolia and I. salicina (44.1 and 39.8%, respectively). Principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) were used to investigate the variations in the volatiles of different Inula species.