The compositions of the essential oils from the leaves of three domestic varieties of the guava tree Psidium guajava L. (Paluma, Século XXI and Pedro Sato) and of one wild variety were compared. Essential oils were extracted by steam distillation, the components were identified by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry GC-MS, and the apparent concentrations were determined by gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector. The results demonstrated that the three essential oils contained many common substances with a prevalence of 1,8-cineole, whereas the essential oil of the Paluma variety contained 1,8-cineole (42.68%) as the major constituent, as well as α-terpineol (38.68%). The principal components of the essential oil of the Século XXI variety were 1,8-cineole (18.83%), trans-caryophyllene (12.08%), and selin-11-en-4-αol (20.98%), while those of the Pedro Sato variety and of the wild plant were 1,8-cineole (17.68%) and (12.83%), caryophyllene oxide (9.34%) and (9.09%), and selin-11-en-4-α-ol (21.46%) and (22.19%), respectively.
Hydrodistillation; guava tree; 1,8-cineole; Psidium guajava; Myrtaceae
