The present paper describes the chemical composition of the essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation from four Impatiens species, Impatiens glandulifera Royle, I. parviflora DC., I. balsamina L. and I. noli-tangere L. The GC and GC-MS methods resulted in identification of 226 volatile compounds comprising from 61.7%-88.2% of the total amount. The essential oils differed significantly in their composition. Fifteen compounds were shared among the essential oils of all investigated Impatiens species. The majority of these constituents was linalool (0.7%-15.1%), hexanal (0.2%-5.3%) and benzaldehyde (0.1%-10.2%). Moreover, the antioxidant activity of the essential oils was investigated using different methods. The chemical composition of the essential oils and its antioxidant evaluation are reported for the first time from the investigated taxon.
Keywords: Balsaminaceae; Impatiens; PCA; antioxidants; essential oils; herb; root.