By M. Moghaddam, R. Omidbiagi and F. Sefidkon

Abstract: Abstract: The essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation from Tagetes minuta L. cultivated in Iran. The oil was analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The main components were α-terpineol (20.8%), (Z)-β-ocimene (17.7%), dihydrotagetone (13.7%), (E)-ocimenone (13.3%), (Z)-tagetone (8.4%) and (Z)-ocimenone (6.1%). Key Word Index: Tagetes minuta, Asteraceae, Essential oil composition, α-terpineol, (Z)-β-ocimene, dihydrotagetone, (E)-ocimenone.

Plant Name
Tagetes minuta L. Asteraceae.

Source
Tagetes minuta is not a native plant of Iran. The seeds of T. minuta were provided from Namibia in Africa. The seeds were sown on clay loam soil in April 2003 at the experimental farm of Zardband Company located in Tehran (Iran). Spacing in the rows were 40 cm. Plants were thinned to 15 cm within rows and allowed to establish. Aerial parts of the plant were harvested at full bloom stage (October 2003), then dried.

Plant Part
Air-dried aerial parts were subjected to hydrodistillation for 3 h using a Clevenger-type apparatus to produce oil in 0.8% yield.

Previous Work
Many studies have been reported on volatile components of Tagetes plants (6-12). The chemical composition of T. minuta oil produced from plants grown in different parts of the world has also been reported (1-4,9). From these analyses, it could be seen that the composition oils varied according to the harvesting location (2,3,11), growth stage (10), plant parts (2) and chemotypes (4).