Essential Oil Constituents of Leaf, Flower and Stem of Melissa officialis L. Grown in Gonbad-Kavus (Iran)

The compositions of the essential oils of leaf, flower and stem of Melissa officinalis L. were analyzed by GC-MS. Twenty-seven volatile components in the leaf oil, twenty-eight components in the flower oil, and thirty five components in the stem oil were identified. The main constituents of the leaf oil were: beta-caryophyllene oxide (27.8 %), geranial (21.3 %), neral (12.9 %), beta-caryophyllene (8.0 %) and geranyl acetate (5.6%); while the major components of the flower oil were: geranial (27.4 %), neral (18.0 %), beta-caryophyllene (15.6 %), beta-caryophyllene oxide (7.5 %) and E-cadina-1(6),4-diene (7.1 %). The main constituents of the stem oil were: n-hexadecanoic acid (47.4 %), (Z,Z)-9,12-octadecadienoic acid (14.9 %), dodecanoic acid (4.6 %), beta-caryophyllene (4.2 %) and geraniol (2.2 %). Oils of the leaf and flower were almost completely composed of mono- and sesquiterpenoids, while oil of the stem is mainly consisted of the saturated and unsaturated fatty acids as well as some normal saturated hydrocarbons along with minor quantities of volatile terpenoids.