Akinola O. Ogunbinu, Isiaka A. Ogunwande a*, Pier L. Cioni and G. Flamini

Abstract: The volatile oil obtained by hydrodistillation from the leaf of Eclipta indica L. was analyzed for its constituents by means of GC and GC/MS. 2-Tridecanone (89.7%), a straight chain ketone, was the singly most abundant constituent. Caryophyllene oxide (3.9%) and β-caryophyllene (2.6%) were the other compounds occurring in sizeable proportions.

Plant Name <i>Eclipta indica</i>, L., Asteraceae Source Fresh leaves of the plant were obtained at William’s Estate, Tabon-Tabon area, Lagos, Nigeria, in March 2004. Mr. T.K. Odewo of the Herbarium Headquarters, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN), Ibadan, authenticated the plant sample. A voucher specimen has been deposited at the Herbarium of the Institute. Plant part The air-dried pulverized leaf samples were subjected to hydrodistillation in an all glass Clevenger apparatus for 3 h to produce light yellow oil in 0.12% v/w yield. Previous study A literature search reveals that the oil of <i>E. indica</i> has not been the subject of previous study.