ABSTRACT
Chimonanthus fragrans Lindle [Calycanthaceae] is an aromatic plant which little information has been reported so far on the composition of its essential oil. In this study the essential oil of flower of this plant was obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC and GC-MS. Forty nine components were identified corresponding to ca. 98.12% of the total components of the essential oil with 0.12% yield. The major components were elemol [20.06%], beta-caryophyllene [9.51%], beta-elemene [8.65%], bicyclogermacrene [8.15%], gamma-elemene [7.2%], germacrene-D [5.65%], trans-beta-ocimene [5.5%], sabinene [3.65%], linalool [2.6%], caryophyllene oxide [2.3%], and delta-cadinene [1.95%]. Comparison of the data of this study with other data including recent report by HS-SPME-GC-MS showed quantitative and qualitative differences due to geographical, agricultural, and technical factors