The Essential Oils of Rubber Rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa) from North-Central Utah and Southwestern Idaho

Abstract

Background: Rabbitbrush ( Ericameria nauseosa) is a conspicuous member of plant communities in the deserts of western North America. The plant is an important winter forage for several ungulates in the region and has been used in Native American ethnopharmacology. Methods: Several specimens were collected from North Central Utah (8 samples) and Southwestern Idaho (6 samples). The essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatographic techniques. The data were analyzed using agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), principal component analysis (PCA), and Pearson correlation analysis. Results: Essential oil yields ranged from 0.030% to 2.011%. The major components in the essential oils were β-phellandrene (1.8%-56.5%), β-pinene (0.%3-23.3%), limonene (0.7%-22.3%), and ( Z)-β-ocimene (0.0%-29.3%). With the exception of 1 sample from Utah, the essential oils showed greater than 50% similarity in composition. There were significant differences in percentages of some components, however. Sabinene, β-phellandrene, cosmene, 1,3,8- p-menthatriene, terpinen-4-ol, and β-eudesmol concentrations were higher in the Idaho samples while myrcene, limonene, geranyl acetate, ( E)-β-caryophyllene, γ-curcumene, germacrene D, α-muurolene, γ-cadinene, and δ-cadinene concentrations were significantly higher in the Utah samples. Chiral gas chromatography–mass spectrometry showed the chiral monoterpenoids to be dominated by the (−)-enantiomers, but there were some differences in enantiomeric distribution in the essential oils from Utah compared to those from Idaho. Conclusion: The essential oil compositions in this work are qualitatively similar to those reported previously. However, there were quantitative differences in chemical composition and enantiomeric distributions between the Utah samples and the Idaho samples. Additional research is needed to compare essential oil composition from other geographical locations in western North America.

Characterization of the volatiles of Ericameria linearifolia from southwestern Utah

“…The major components in E. linearifolia essential oils were sabinene (13.2-14.3%), β-pinene (4.0-13.4%), βphellandrene (0.3-13.9%), myrcene (6.0-12.2%), terpinen-4-ol (6.3-8.1%), limonene (1.5-15.8%), (Z)-βocimene (4.6-6.1%), (E)-β-ocimene (3.3-7.5%), and αpinene (4.5-8.2%). As far as we are aware, there are only two previous reports on the essential oils of Ericameria species, E. laricifolia [11] and E. nauseosa [8][9][10]. The major components identified in E. laricifolia were β-phellandrene (24.3%), limonene (22.5%), βpinene (17.5%), α-phellandrene (5.3%), and α-pinene (4.3%); while the major components (averages) in E. nauseosa were β-phellandrene (30.1%), β-pinene (10.3%), limonene (6.3%), (Z)-β-ocimene (6.4%), sabinene (4.1%), myrcene (3.6%), and (E)-β-ocimene (3.5%).…”

“…As far as we are aware, however, there have been no previous investigations on the essential oil of E. linearifolia. Apparently, only two other species of Ericameria have been analyzed in terms of essential oil composition, Ericameria nauseosa (Pursh) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird [8][9][10] and Ericameria laricifolia (A.Gray) Shinners [11]. As part of our continuing interest in the essential oils of Great Basin Asteraceae, the purpose of this study is to obtain and chemically characterize the essential oil of E. linearifolia.…”

The Essential Oils of Wyethia Species: Wyethia Amplexicaulis (Nutt.) Nutt. and Wyethia Helianthoides Nutt.

“…Baird (Asteraceae). 17 The major enantiomers in this plant were (−)-α-pinene, (−)-sabinene, (−)-β-pinene, (−)-terpinen-4-ol, and (−)-α-terpineol.…”

Essential oils of two Great Basin composites: Chaenactis douglasii and Dieteria canescens from southwestern Idaho

“…In the case of β-pinene, the enantiomeric distribution is inconsistent within the genera Artemisia, Baccharis, and Gnoxys. (+)-Limonene predominated in the essential oils of Baccharis species, but were not consistent in Ericameria nauseosa [42]. The oxygenated monoterpenoids terpenen-4-ol and αterpineol also do not exhibit consistent enantiomeric distributions in the family.…”