RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Vietnam is a country blessed with many medicinal plants widely used as food and for medicinal purposes, and they contain a host of active substances that contribute to health. However, the analysis of chemical constituents of these plant species has not been subject of literature discussion. RESULTS: In this study, the chemical compositions of essential oils of four Hedychium species, obtained by hydrodistillation, were determined by means of gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) techniques. Individually, α-pinene (52.5%) and ß-pinene (31.8%) were present in the leaf oil of Hedychium stenopetalum Lodd., while linalool (45.2%), (E)-nerolidol (8.7%) and α-pinene (5.0%) were identified in the root. The leaf of Hedychium coronarium J. König was characterized by ß-pinene (20.0%), linalool (15.8%), 1,8-cineole (10.7%), α-pinene (10.1%) and α-terpineol (8.6%); while ß-pinene (23.6%), α-humulene (17.1%) and ß-caryophyllene (13.0%) were identified in the root. Hedychium flavum Roxb., gave oil whose major compounds were ß-pinene (22.5%), α-humulene (15.7%) and ß-caryophyllene (10.4%) in the leaf; α-humulene (18.9%), ß-caryophyllene (11.8%) and ß-pinene (11.2%) in the stem, as well as ß-pinene (21.8%), linalool (17.5%) and 1,8-cineole (13.5%) in the root. The main constituents of Hedychium ellipticum Buch.-Ham. ex Smith were (E)-nerolidol (15.9%), ß-pinene (11.8%) and bornyl acetate (9.2%) in the leaf with 1,8-cineole (40.8%), α-pinene (18.3%) and ß-pinene (11.0%) occurring in the root. CONCLUSIONS: Ubiquitous monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes were identified as characteristic markers for Hedychium species. This work is of great importance for the evaluation of Hedychium essential oils grown in Vietnam.
