Volatile oil composition of Centaurea Aucheri (DC.) wagenitz

Centaurea aucheri (DC.) Wagenitz is one of the species of Asteraceae that has not been the subject of many investigations. Different species of this genus have been used in traditional medicine. In this investigation C. aucheri was collected from Khanesorkh of Kerman and the essential oil of the aerial parts of plant was extracted by Clevenger apparatus and analyzed by GC-MS. Identification of the components of oils were based on their retention indices and mass spectra data in comparison with those reported in literatures. The amount of essential oil was 0.16% and 22 substances consisting 80.03% of the composition of the essential oil were identified. The main compounds were caryophyllene oxide (19.44%), β-caryophyllene (14%), Geremacrene-D (13.38%). The essential oil was rich in sesquiterpene oil.