Anand B. Melkani,* Anuradha Negi, Mohammad S. Javed, Philip S. Beauchamp and Vasu Dev

Abstract: The essential oil from the aerial parts of Agrimonia aitchisonii (Rosaceae), obtained by steam distillation was investigated by GC, GC/MS and NMR spectroscopy. The oil was found to be rich in methyl myrtenate (62.4%). Other components with significant percentage were limonene (7.2%), linalool (4.8%), myrtenyl acetate (4.6%), linalyl acetate (5.9%) and zingiberene (2.4%).

Agrimonia aitchisonii Schonbeck Temesy (Rosaceae) grows wild in the hilly terrain of Uttaranchal (India). This is the only species of the genus Agrimonia which has been reported to grow wild in this hill state from 2100 m to 2400 m elevation (1). A review of literature revealed that the plant has not been investigated for its steam volatile compounds. The present study was undertaken to analyze the essential oil of this species.