The Sicilian (Italy) accession of Echinops spinosissimus Turra subsp. spinosissimus: the essential oil chemical composition of its aerial parts

The genus Echinops L. (Asteraceae) is geographical widely distribution across Mediterranean area, Africa, and Asia. Echinops spinosissimus Turra is a perennial herbaceous plant and it is divided into eight subspecies. This species is native to south-eastern Europe, northern Africa, and southwest Asia. Chemical composition of the essential oil (EO) from the aerial parts of a Sicilian accession of E. spinosissimus subsp. spinosissimus, investigated for the first time in this study, was evaluated by gas chromatography (GC-MS). The EO (Ess) was characterised by good amounts of monoterpenoids (49.5%), with linalool as main constituent (13.1%), and carbonylic compounds (20.5%). An update of the composition of all the EOs of Echinops species was carried out and their composition have been compared with the results obtained from the Sicilian accession of E. spinosissimus subsp. spinosissimus.