VOLATILE OF ECHINOPS KEBERICHO ROOTS 35 Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Flavour Fragr. J. 2007; 22: 35–38 DOI: 10.1002/ffj FLAVOUR AND FRAGRANCE JOURNAL Flavour Fragr. J. 2007; 22: 35–38 Published online 1 August 2006 in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI: 10.1002/ffj.1746 Volatile constituents of the roots of Echinops kebericho Mesfin Ariaya Hymete, 1 Jens Rohloff, 1 * Tor-Henning Iversen 1 and Helge Kjøsen 2 1 The Plant Biocentre, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), N-7491 Trondheim, Norway 2 Organic Chemistry Laboratories, Department of Chemistry, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), N-7491 Trondheim, Norway Received 19 April 2005; Revised 21 March 2006; Accepted 18 April 2006 ABSTRACT: Volatile fractions from the roots of Echinops kebericho Mesfin were obtained by hydrodistillation and solid- phase microextraction (SPME) and analysed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS); 65 compounds, re- presenting 73.9% of the volatile fraction in the hydrodistillate from the roots, and 63 compounds, representing 78.6% of the volatile compounds in the SPME extract of the roots of E. kebericho, were identified. The main constituent found in hydrodistilled essential oil was eudesm-7(11)-en-4-ol (14.3%), followed by caryophyllene oxide (9.7%) and τ τ τ -cadinol (8.3%). High amounts of β β β -cubebene (22.7%), followed by β β β -patchoulene (11.1%), longifolene (10.4%), and cyperene (8.2%), were detected by SPME. Using both extraction methods, a total of 83 compounds were detected in E. kebericho essential oil. Monoterpenoid compounds represented 2.1% (seven compounds) and 2.1% (10 compounds) of the essential oil volatiles obtained by hydrodistillation and SPME, respectively, whereas sesquiterpenoids represented 72.5% (43 compounds) and 75.7% (31 compounds), respectively. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. KEY WORDS: Echinops kebericho Mesfin; essential oil; gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS); SPME; eudesm- 7(11)-en-4-ol; caryophyllene oxide Introduction Echinops is one of the genera classified under the family Asteraceae. This genus is reported to comprise over 120 species, of which four (Echinops kebericho Mesfin, E. buhaitensis Mesfin, E. ellenbeckii O. Hoffm and E. longisetus A. Rich) are confined to the Ethiopian high- lands. E. kebericho is so far known from a few localities in Ethiopia (Shoa and Gojam Provinces) at altitudes of 2300 –2600 m. It is an erect perennial herb or shrub up to 1.2 m high, commonly from a massive root stock with leafy stems. The leaf lamina is elliptical and is divided into segments that commonly end in spikes. The corolla is white or bright blue. 1 The roots of E. kebericho are traditionally used as a fumigant, mainly after childbirth. It is claimed that the smoke is effective against typhus and fever. People in the central and south-western parts of Ethiopia use the smoke of E. kebericho to repel snakes from their vicinity. It is also indicated that the roots are chewed to reduce stom- ach ache in humans. A decoction of the roots is used to cure intestinal diseases in cattle. 2 The reduction of stom- ach ache in humans and its use in the treatment of intes- tinal problems in cattle could be due to the strong antihelmiuthic activity of the roots (LD 50 = 0.057 mg/ml, as compared to 0.0845 mg/ml of the standard drug niclosamide), which was reported earlier. 3 Infusions of roots of E. kebericho are applied for the treatment of migraine, diarrhoea, heart pain and other ailments. 4 In vitro studies on other members of the genus showed strong antibacterial, nematicidal and molluscicidal activities. 5 Chemical constituents of members of the genus have been investigated to some extent. E. kebericho is reported to contain sesquiterpene lactones, of which dehydrocostus lactone is the major constituent. 6 β-Sitosterol, stigmasterol, campesterol, β-amyrene, lupeol and ursolic acid, together with a series of fatty acids, were reported from the lipid fraction of E. kebericho. 7 Tricyclic sesquiterpenes (e.g. α- and β-caryophyllene, α- and β- bisabolene, α- and β-santalene, guaiene), sesquiterpene alcohols (e.g. (-)-nopsan-4-ol, (+)-prenopsan-8-ol and sliphiperfol-6-ene) and sesquiterpene lactones (e.g. α- and β-caryophyllene epoxide) were reported from E. grijsii and E. giganteus. 8–10 Monoterpenoids from E. grijsii 10 and E. ritro 11 and several sesquiterpenoid compounds from E. ellenbeckii O. Hoffm 12 have been reported. Simple quinoline alkaloids, such as echinorine, echinoramine, * Correspondence to: J. Rohloff, The Plant Biocentre, Department of Bio- logy, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), N-7491 Trondheim, Norway. E-mail: jens.rohloff@bio.ntnu.no Contract/grant sponsor: Norwegian Loan Fund