Chemical composition of essential oils from Eucalyptus globulus and Eucalyptus maculata grown in Tanzania

This study examined the chemical composition of essential oil from the leaves of Eucalyptus maculata and Eucalyptus globulus found in Tanzania. The chemical composition of essential oils of other species viz. E. saligna, E. citriodora and E. camaldulensis has been described, but due to low abundance of Eucalyptus globulus and Eucalyptus maculata the composition of these plants grown in different parts of Tanzania are unknown. The essential oil was extracted by steam distillation and was analyzed for various chemical compositions using GC–MS. The major identified compounds in the leaf essential oil of E. maculata were Eucalyptol (54.29%), p-cymene (10.10%), α-pinene (7.78%), β-myrcene (7.78%), γ-terpinene (1.73%) and citronellal (1.62%); while Eucalyptol (51.62%), α-pinene (23.62%), p-cymene (10%), β-myrcene (8.74%), Terpinen-4-ol (2.74%) and γ-terpinene (2.59%) were the major compounds for E. globulus.