By K. Javidnia, A. Nasiri, R. Miri and A. Jamalian

Abstract: Abstract: The chemical composition of the essential oil obtained from aerial parts of Helianthemum kahiricum Del. was investigated by GC and GC/MS. The main components were hexadecanoic acid (36.2%), tetradecanoic acid (7.3%), linoleic acid (6.5%) and dodecanoic acid (4.7%). Key Word Index: Helianthemum kahiricum, Cistaceae, essential oil composition, hexadecanoic acid.

Plant Name
Helianthemum kahiricum Del., Cistaceae (1).

Source
Aerial parts of H. kahiricum were collected in March 2003 from Bandarabas at the time of flowering. The plant was identified by the Research Institute of Forest and Rangelands, Hormozgan, Iran. A specimen (Herbarium no. 3120) has been deposited in the Herbarium of the Research Institute of Forest and Rangelands, Hormozgan, Iran.

Plant Part
The aerial parts of H. kahiricum were air-dried at ambient temperature in the shade and hydrodistilled by using a Clevenger-type apparatus for 4 h. The yield of the oil was 0.01% and the oil was yellow in color. It was dissolved in hexane (Merck), dried over anhydrous sodium sulphate and stored at 4°–6°C.

Previous Work
A survey of the literature did not reveal any report on the constituents of the essential oils of Helianthemum species. Flavonoids and diterpene acids were isolated from H. umbellatum (2,3).