Chemical compositions of the essential oil of Gundelia tournefortii L. (Asteraceae) from Central Zagros, Iran

Gundelia tournefortii L. (Tumbleweed) has been identified as one of the well-known and widely distributed plants with various applications in some of Asian and North African countries. It belongs to the (Asteraceae) family and grows in the Middle East particularly in the temperate, mountainous and semi desert areas of countries such as Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Turkmenistan and some regions of Azerbaijan and Armenia. The aim of this study was to identify of the chemical components of G.Tournefortii L. in some of its habitats into Central Zagros area, Iran. In this regard, G. tournefortii L. was collected from some of its natural habitats in the mentioned area and air dried. The essential oil of the plant was isolated by hydro-distillation with a yield of 0.8 % (v/w). Also, the chemical compositions of volatile oil were analyzed using GC-MS. The results indicated that major components were palmitic acid (12.48 %), lauric acid (10.59 %), alpha ionene (6.68 %), myristic acid (4.45 %), 1-hexadecanol, 2-methyl (3.61 %), phytol (3.6 %), and beta turmerone (3.4 %).  Gundelia tournefortii L. is known as a plants with many therapeutic properties especially in traditional and contemporary medicine in the world. Also, this plant has a useful nutritional solute such as potassium and calcium.