The genus Nepeta L. (Lamiaceae) comprises about 300 species as annual or perennial herbs or small shrubs, spread in central and southern Europe, the Near East, central and southern Asia, and some areas of Africa. Several species have been used in the traditional medicine. In the present study, the chemical composition of the essential oils from aerial parts of two populations of Nepeta apuleji Ucria collected in Sicily, a rare species, growing also in South Spain and NW Africa, were analysed by GC-MS. No one has been previously worked and published on the essential oil of this species. Main constituents of the two oils of the two populations were the monoterpenes β-pinene (11.6-6.3%) and γ-terpinene (9.4-5.0%), and the sesquiterpenes β-caryophyllene (11.9-9.8%) and germacrene D (1.8-13.0%). The chemical profile of the two essential oils presented herein and they compared with previously investigated Nepeta taxa oils, reported in the article.
Keywords: Nepeta apuleji ucria; essential oil; germacrene D; lamiales; β-caryophyllene; β-pinene; γ-terpinene.