The chemical composition of trunk bark oil from Cleistopholis patens (Benth.) Engl. & Diels, growing wild in Côte d'Ivoire, has been investigated by GC (FID) in combination with retention indices, GC/MS and 13C‐NMR. Moreover, one oil sample has been subjected to CC and all the fractions analyzed by GC (RI) and 13C‐NMR. In total, 61 components have been identified, including various sesquiterpene esters scarcely found in essential oils. 13C‐NMR was particularly efficient for the identification of a component not eluted on GC and for the quantification of heat‐sensitive compounds. Then, 36 oil samples, isolated from trunk bark harvested in six Ivoirian forests have been analyzed. The content of the main components varied drastically from sample to sample: (E)‐β‐caryophyllene (0.4 – 69.1%), β‐pinene (0 – 57%), α‐phellandrene (0 – 33.2%), α‐pinene (0.1 – 30.6%), β‐elemol (0.1 – 29.9%), germacrene D (0 – 25.4%), juvenile hormone III (0 – 22.9%), germacrene B (0 – 20.6%) and sabinene (tr‐20.3%). Statistical analysis, hierarchical clustering and principal components analysis, carried out on the 36 compositions evidenced a fair chemical variability of the stem bark oil of this species. Indeed, three clusters have been distinguished: the composition of group I (ten samples) was dominated by β‐pinene and α‐pinene, group II (nine samples) was represented by α‐phellandrene and p‐cymene and group III (16 samples) by β‐elemol. A sample displayed an atypical composition dominated by (E)‐β‐caryophyllene.

The chemical composition of 48 essential-oil samples isolated from the leaves of Xylopia aethiopica harvested in six Ivoirian forests was investigated by GC-FID and (13) C-NMR analyses. In total, 23 components accounting for 82.5-96.1% of the oil composition were identified. The composition was dominated by the monoterpene hydrocarbons β-pinene (up to 61.1%) and α-pinene (up to 18.6%) and the sesquiterpene hydrocarbon germacrene D (up to 28.7%). Hierarchical cluster and principal component analyses allowed the distinction of two groups on the basis of the β-pinene and germacrene D contents. The chemical composition of the oils of Group I (38 oil samples) was clearly dominated by β-pinene, while those of Group II (10 samples) were characterized by the association of β-pinene and germacrene D. The leaves collected in the four inland forests produced β-pinene-rich oils (Group I), while the oil samples belonging to Group II were isolated from leaves harvested in forests located near the littoral.