The essential oil composition of the endemic plant species Centaurea vandasii and chemotaxonomy of section Phalolepis (Asteraceae)

In the present study, the chemical composition of the essential oil from aerial parts of the endemic plant species, Centaurea vandasii Velen (sect. Phalolepis, Asteraceae), collected in its locus classicus in Rhodope Mts, Bulgaria, was evaluated by GC-MS. The main components of the oil were hexadecanoic acid (18.3%), tetradecanoic acid (13.8%), caryophyllene oxide (12.1%) and germacrene D (8.4%). Furthermore, a complete literature review on the composition of the essential oils of all the other taxa of Centaurea, belonging to section Phalolepis, studied so far, was performed. HCA (Hierarchical Cluster Analysis) and PCA (Principal Component Analyses) were used in order to demonstrate chemotaxonomical variations in the composition of the essential oils.