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Clinical pharmacy PharmD program Third level Phytochemistry-1 (PG-504)
Why plants produce volatile oils?
❑ Help pollination.
❑ Protect against animal feeding and parasites.
❑ Act as varnish to decrease water loss.
❑ Hydrogen donors in redox reactions.
❑ Produced as detoxification products.
❑ Help in sealing wounds.
❑ Act as reserve food.
Where volatile oils are produced?
❑ Depending on the plant family, volatile oils may occur in
❑ certain tissue, in special secretory structures such as:
❑ Oil cells as in cinnamon bark
❑ Glandular hairs as in mentha leaves
❑ Shizogenous glands as in pine leaves
❑ Schizolysogenous glands as in clove flower buds.
❑ lysogenous oil glands as in Citrus fruits
❑ Vittae (ducts) as in anise fruits
❑ N.B. Volatile oils may be present as a mixture with resin forming oleo-resin
combinations e.g. Copaipa balsam.
Different classes of organic compounds in volatile oils:
Hydrocarbons
Oxygenated compounds
1- Alcohols
2- Phenols and phenolic ether
3- Aldehydes
4- Ketones
5- Esters
6- Acids
7- Oxides
8- Peroxides
9- Sulfur compounds
10-Sulfur and nitrogenous compounds
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