MELALEUCA TERETIFOLIA, A NOVEL AROMATIC AND MEDICINAL PLANT FROM AUSTRALIA

The essential oils of the leaves and twigs of two chemotypes of Melaleuca teretifolia Endl growing wild in Western Australia were investigated by GC and GC/MS. One chemical form which yielded 0.2% on a fresh weight basis was found to be rich in 1,8-cineole (84.0%) with -pinene (1.8%), -pinene (1.2%), limonene (3.1%), terpinen-4-ol (1.8%) and -terpineol (3.3%) as the only other significant constituents. The lemon form gave a much higher yield (1.5%) of an oil rich in neral (29.1%), geranial (38.8%), and myrcene (9.8%) with significant concentrations of limonene (1.0%), citronellal (1.0%), terpinen-4-ol (3.4%), geraniol (2.1%), nerol (1.1%), Z-isocitral (1.6%) and E-isocitral (2.4%). The potential commercial value of these oils as medicinal and aromatic plant products is discussed.