CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF ALBANIAN VITEX AGNUS CASTUS L. LEAVES ESSENTIAL OILS

Vitex agnus-castus L. (Verbenaceae) is a small tree or deciduous shrub, native to the Mediterranean region and Asia. It is known in Albania as “ konopicë ” and grows wild in the western lowland. The aim of the present study was the determination of the chemical composition of Vitex agnus-castus leaves essential oils growing wild in two different zones of Albania. The GC and GC/MS analyses of the leaves oils revealed that the major constituents identified were 1,8 cineole (15.97 % -31.8 %), sabinene (16.98 % - 18.65 %), ß-caryophyllene (5.53 % -20.33 %), α-pinene (3.42% -8.01%), ß-farnesene (1.12 % - 3.07 %), α-terpinyl acetate (1.26 % -2.73%) ect. The monoterpene hydrocarbons ranged from 26.6 % (Tepelena) to 33.85% (Divjaka). The oxygenated monoterpenes costituted 23.29% (Divjaka) and 46.13 % (Tepelena) of total oils. Percentage composition of total sesquiterpenes in the oils were 15.66% and 25.73%, respectively in Tepelena and Divjaka and the total diterpenes from 3.93 % (Tepelena) to 7.02 % (Divjaka).The examination of the data reveals that Agnus Castus L. leaves essential oils growing wild in two different areas of Albania has some differences in their chemical composition. The oxygenated monoterpenes is the major group of components of the leaves essential from Tepelena, with the main constituent 1,8-cineole (31.84%), while in Divjaka zone the major groups are the monoterpenes and the total sesquiterpenes, with the main constituent β-caryophyllene (20.33%).