Comparative Chemical Profile of Lavandula stoechas L. Essential Oils Isolated from Flowers and Leaves Native to Algeria

This study is aimed at the extraction and chemical analysis of the essential oils of the leaves and flowers of Lavandula stoechas L growing in northeastern Algeria. The hydrodistilled oils isolated from leaves (0.75%) and flowers (0.6%) were characterized by fifty-two and sixtyfour compounds, respectively. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis demonstrated that both organs revealed the presence of fenchone and camphor as the major compounds. However, the highest percentage of fenchone (52.7%) was observed in the flowers oil; whereas, the percentage of camphor (25.94%) was significantly higher in the leaves oil in comparison with its content in flowers oil (15.52%). Other predominant compounds in leaves and flowers oils were, respectively, as follows: 1.8-cineole (4.84% and 4.02%), camphene (4.55% and 3.23%), bornyl acetate (3.06% and 4.43%), α-terpinolene (1.09% and 1.45%), viridiflorol (1.51% and 1.39%), and α- pinene (0.5% and 1.5%). The quantitative and qualitative data proved that the chemical profile of both organs of Lavandula stoechas native to Algeria was approximately close. The oil chemical composition is susceptible to the influence of environmental factors (soil, climate). The biological activity (antimicrobial and antioxidant) of the two oils from Lavandula stoechas L., native to this Algerian region is under study.