The Malaysian Journal of Analytical Sciences, Vol 14 No 1 (2010): 32 - 40 32 ANALYSIS OF ESSENTIAL OILS OF ETLINGERA SPHAEROCEPHALA VAR. GRANDIFLORA BY TWO-DIMENSIONAL GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY WITH TIME-OF-FLIGHT MASS SPECTROMETRY (Analisis Minyak Pati Daripada Etlingera Sphaerocephala Var. Grandiflora Dengan Kromatografi Gas Dua Dimensi - Spektrometri Jisim Masa Terbang) M.A.A. Yahya 1 , W.A. Yaacob 1 , Laily B. Din 1 , I. Nazlina 2 1 School of Chemical Sciences and Food Technology, 2 School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia. Abstract Hydrodistillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus of the Etlingera sphaerocephala var. grandiflora rhizomes, stem, leaves and whole plant yielded oils of respective 0.03, 0.02, 0.17 and 0.05%. Forty two compounds (or 97%), 32 (81%), 40 (63%) and 36 (80%) of the rhizome, stem, leaf and whole plant oils gave good matches in GCXGC-TOFMS analysis. The major components in the rhizome oil: 1,8-cineole (16.8%), α-phellandrene (12.7%) and β-trans-ocimene (8.9%); the stem: 1,8-cineole (17.4%), α- phellandrene (9.7%) and 1S-α-pinene (9.5%); the leaf: α-phellandrene (12.3%) and diprene (10.3%); and in the whole: β-pinene (12.2%), α-pinene (8.6%), p-menth-1-en-8-ol (8.5%) and α-phellandrene (8.5%). Monoterpenes constituted the richest components (76% average) in all of the four oils followed by sesquiterpenes (4%) and non-terpenes (0.2%). Three clusters of 1,8-cineole and α-phellandrene; β-pinene and 1,8-cineole; and α-phellandrene were obtained in cluster and principal component analyses. Keywords: Etlingera sphaerocephala var. grandiflora, essential oils, GCXGC-TOFMS Abstrak Penyulingan air dengan radas jenis-Clevenger rizom, batang, daun dan keseluruhan tumbuhan menghasilkan minyak masing- masing sebanyak 0.03, 0.02, 0.17 dan 0.05%. Empat puluh dua sebatian (atau 97%), 32 (81%), 40 (63%), dan 36 (80%) minyak rizom, batang, daun dan keseluruhan tumbuhan memberikan padanan yang baik dalam analisis KGXKG-SJMP. Komponen utama dalam minyak rizom: 1,8-sineol (16.8%), α-felandrena (12.7%) dan β-trans-osimena (8.9%); batang: 1,8-sineol (17.4%), α-felandrena (9.7%) dan 1S-α-pinena (9.5%); daun: α-felandrena (12.3%) dan diprena (10.3%); dan dalam keseluruhan: β-pinena (12.2%), α-pinena (8.6%), p-ment-1-en-8-ol (8.5%) dan α-felandrena (8.5%). Monoterpena menjuzukkan komponen terkaya (purata 76%) dalam kesemua empat minyak diikuti seskuiterpena (4%) dan bukan-terpena (0.2%). Tiga kluster 1,8-sineol dan α- felandrena; β-pinena dan 1,8-sineol; dan α-felandrena diperolehi dalam analisis kluster dan komponen utama. Kata kunci: Etlingera sphaerocephala var. grandiflora, minyak pati, GCXGC-TOFMS Introduction There are 151 Zingiberaceae species belonging to 18 genera found in Peninsular Malaysia [1]. The largest Zingiberaceae genus is Alpinia (23 species), whereas Etlingera (10) ranks sixth. The number of Etlingera species has now increased to 15 [2]. Etlingera species are tall forest plants, with larger species reaching up to 6 m in height [3]. Holttum [4] described E. sphaerocephala var. grandiflora by its subterranean inflorescence with flowers appearing at soil level; its stature is 2.5 m; its leaves when young also suffused purple below; its labellum is 6 cm or more in length and 2.7 cm wide, the base is red in colour. Etlingera sphaerocephala var. grandiflora can be found in many parts of the Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo [5], mainly in lowland forests and at moderate elevation on the mountains. No uses have ever been recorded for E. sphaerocephala var. grandiflora [6]. To date, several studies have been carried out on Etlingera essential oils. Lechat-Vahirua et al. [7] found methyl eugenol (47.4%) and (E)-methyl isoeugenol (18.2%) as major components in the rhizome essential oil of Etlingera cevuga. The respective dry flower and flower axis essential oils of the Brazilian E. elatior contained dodecanol (42.5, 34.6%), dodecanal (14.5, 21.5%) and α-pinene (22.2, 6.3%) as their major constituents [8]. β-Pinene (19.2%), caryophyllene (15.4%) and (E)-β-farnesene (27.9%) represented the major components of the leaf essential oil of