Temel Özek,* Mine Kürkcüoglu, K. Hüsnü Can Baser and Alev Tosun,

Abstract: The essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation from fruits of Tordylium trachycarpum (Boiss.) Al-Eisawi et Jury and Tordylium hasselquistiae DC. (Apiaceae) were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. In total, fifty-three compounds were characterized, representing 99.5% of the oil and sixty-one compounds were characterized, representing 98.8% of the oil of T. trachycarpum and T. hasselquistiae, respectively. The main constituents were octyl octanoate (79.9%), octanol (11.0%) and octanoic acid (2.9%) in T. trachycarpum; and octyl hexanoate (72.7%), octyl octanoate (12.7%) and octanol (3.3%) in the oil of T. hasselquistiae.

The genus Tordylium L. (Syn.: Hasselquistia L., Condylocarpus Hoffm., Ainsworthia Boiss., Synelcosciadium Boiss.), is represented by 15 species in Turkey (1–2). There are a few previous papers on phytochemical (flavonoids, coumarins) and biological activity studies (antioxidant, antibacterial, cytotoxic properties) on some Tordylium species (3–6). There is a report on T. apulum L. as the most preferred pollen source for honey bees (7). There are a few papers on the essential oil studies of Tordylium species (5, 8–10). In the oil of T. apulum obtained from aerial parts, α-humulene (28.7%), octyl hexanoate (11.7%), farnesyl acetone (9.8%) were reported as major components (5). In the fruit oil of T. apulum the major constituents were found as octyl hexanoate (44.0%), octyl octanoate (34.5%) and octanol (16.5%) (8). In the oil from fruits of a recently described endemic species, T. ketenoglui H. Duman et A. Duran, the main constituents were octyl octanoate (28.9%), octanol (11.6%) and bornyl acetate (7.2%) (9–10). The main constituents in the fruit oils of T. pestalozzae Boiss., T. pustulosum Boiss. and T. lanatum (Boiss.) Boiss were characterized as octyl hexanoate (56.0%), octyl octanoate (15.7%), octanol (14.5%), hexadecanoic acid (6.0%); octyl hexanoate (68.8%), octyl 2–methylbutyrate (17.8%), octanol (4.2%); octyl hexanoate (58.8%) and octanol (21.5%), respectively (11). As a continuation of our research into essential oils of the family Umbelliferae, the GC and GC/MS analyses of the oils of two Tordylium species have been carried out. To the best of our knowledge, there is no previous report on the oil compositions of T. trachycarpum and T. hasselquistiae.