The essential oil chemical composition of the aerial parts of Asparagus pastorianus Webb & Berthel growing wild in Sicily (Italy)

The genus Asparagus L. (Asparagaceae) has a wide geographical distribution being present in Europe, Africa, and Asia to N. Australia. The use of Asparagus ssp. dates since Ancient Grecians and Romans and several ethnopharmacological properties have been reported for many species. Asparagus pastorianus Webb & Berthel is a taxon described for the flora of the Canary Islands. The species is also reported in northern Morocco. Recently it has also been included in the Italian flora as present in southern Sicily. In this study, the chemical composition of the essential oil from aerial parts (Ap) of a Sicilian accession of this plant, never previously investigated, was evaluated by GC-MS. The essential was characterised by large amounts of aldehydes (65.5%) and alkanes (19.3%) whereas terpenes were very poorly represented. An update of all the essential oils of Asparagus species, studied so far, was carried out.