Oils, fleabane, Erigeron canadensis

Chemical properties

Erigeron oil is produced exclusively from wild-growing plants of E. canadensis. Fresh plants yield from 0.3 to 0.6% essential oil, while dried plants seldom yield in excess of 0.2% essential oil on distillation. The oil becomes darker and more viscous upon long-term storage. The oil obtained by steam distillation has a slightly pungent, herbaceous odor.

Occurrence

Reported produced in microorganism Saccharomyces cerevisae.

Definition

Extractives and their physically modified derivatives. Erigeron canadensis, Compositae.

Essential oil composition

Main constituents include d-limonene, p-cymene, dipentene, linalool (traces), cuminaldehyde and ketone. Also, methyl octanoate derivatives formed by enzymatic action have been isolated in the oils distilled from other Erigeron species.

Synthesis

Methyl 2-keto-D-gluconate with sodium methoxide; or synthesis from sucrose, production from Penicillium spp