The volatile fraction from the aerial part of Alchemilla xanthochlora Rothm. (Rosaceae) was obtained by hydrodistillation, and the chemical composition of the obtained oil was determined by GC/FID and GC/MS. Several compounds were found, belonging to the classes of aldehydes, alcohols, terpenes, esters, acids and hydrocarbons. The major constituents were cis-3-hexenol (11.20+/-0.02%), linalool (10.36+/-0.75%), oct-1-en-3-ol (8.98+/-1.43%), and nonanal (7.83+/-0.93%), followed by myrtenol (4.65+/-0.40%), hexadecanoic acid (4.59+/-0.79%), cis-3-hexenyl acetate (3.92+/-0.15%) and alpha-terpineol (3.10+/-0.26%).

The composition of the volatile fraction of two important forage legumes from Italian sub-alpine N.E. pastureland, namely Trifolium pratense L. subsp. pratense (red clover) and T. repens subsp. repens (white clover) were investigated. The volatile oil was obtained from the fresh aerial parts by steam distillation and analyzed by GC/FID and GC/MS. The oil yield was 0.018 and 0.021% (weight/fresh weight basis) for T. pratense and T. repens, respectively. Several classes of compounds were found in both the oils, including alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, terpenes, esters, hydrocarbons, phenolics and acids. Qualitative and quantitative differences were found.