LAUSR

Worldwide, about 659 species have been identified [1] and about 400 species of the genus Galium (Rubiaceae) have been reported from the temperate region, while in Pakistan it is represented by 24 species [2]. Medicinal plant species of the genus Galium are used in traditional medicine for various ailments such as wounds, ulcers, acne, and skin problems [3]. It has sedative, diuretic [3], antibacterial [4], antitumor [5, 6] as well as antioxidant properties [5]. A literature survey shows reports on the essential oil from Galium tricornutum [6], G. verum [7], G. asperifolium [8], G. hercynicum, and G. humifusum [9], while our report is the first report on the chemical composition of the essential oil of G. setaceum Lam. The aim of our current investigation is to investigate the volatile constituents of Galium setaceum Lam. The flowering plant material of Galium setaceum Lam. (locally known as “threkh Jeshy”) was collected in June from Dir-Upper of Pakistan. The oil, extracted by steam distillation (0.04% w/w) on a Clevenger apparatus, was analyzed by GC (Shumadzu-17-A, Japan) and GC-MS (JEOL JMS-600H) techniques. GC-MS data reveal that the oil contains 2-hydroxy-1-octadecanoic acid (16.14%), hexadecanoic acid (6.63%), 5-methyl-3-heptanone (5.68%), 2-isopropyl-1-methoxy-4-methylbenzene (6.0%), linoleic acid (4.5%), etc.; see Table 1.