Essential oils from the aerial parts of Centaurea cuneifolia Sibth. & Sm. and C. euxina Velen., two species growing wild in Bulgaria

The volatile constituents of the aerial parts of Centaurea cuneifolia Sibth. & Sm. and Centaurea euxina Velen. from Bulgaria were extracted by hydrodistillation and were analyzed. The main components in C. cuneifolia were β-eudesmol (26.5%) and hexadecanoic acid (17.6%). The main components in C. euxina were hexadecanoic acid (20.3%), spathulenol (10.8%) and caryophyllene oxide (6.2%). The chemotaxonomic significances with respect to other previously studied species of the same sections (Achrolopus and Phalolepis, respectively) are discussed.