Composition and seasonal variation of volatile organic compounds in Santolina etrusca (Lacaita) Marchi & D'Amato found at Acquapendente (Viterbo, Central Italy).

The main component of the essential oil of Santolina etrusca is viridiflorol (23.98-42.23%). a compound not found in the essential oil of Santolina camaecyparissus. The main component found in this study is the same found in the essential oil obtained from plants collected in Tuscany and Umbria. However, there are important differences in the other components of the essential oil, where we found the presence of eucalyptol (2.98-9.73%) and germacrene D (2.39-19.59%). Finally, seasonal variation of the essential oil composition induces a reduction of sesquiterpenes amounts with the corresponding increase of the monoterpenes during spring and summer.