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Bangladesh Journal of Pharmacology 

Research Article 

Chemical composition of the leaf es-
sential oils of Murraya koenigii (L.) 
Spreng and Murraya paniculata (L.) 
Jack 

%-3 



 

Introduction 

A systematic study on the medicinal and aromatic 
plants is being carried out in Bangladesh. Among these 
plants one finds Murraya koenigi (L.) Spreng and M. 
paniculata (L.) Jack of the Rutaceae family. Murraya 
koenigii (L.) Spreng is a small strong smelling perennial 
shrub or small tree commonly found in forests as 
undergrowth, cultivated in India for its aromatic leaves 
and for ornament. Leaves are used as a condiment in 
the preparation of curry powder, pickle, chutney, 
sausages and seasonings (Anonymous, 1962; Hiremath 
et al., 1998). The flavor and fragrance of leaves retain 
even after drying (Omankutty Amma et al., 1984).  
Leaves relieve nausea, indigestion, vomiting; eaten as a 
cure for diarrhea and dysentery (Anonymous, 1962; 
Ghani, 2003). Essential oil composition of leaves has 
been studied by various workers. The major consti-
tuents responsible for the aroma and flavor have been 
reported as pinene, sabinene, caryophyllene, cadinol 
and cadinene (Anonymous, 1962; Nigam and Purohit, 
1961; Prakash and Natarajan, 1974; Macleod and 
Pieries, 1982; Hiremath et al., 1998). Raina et al. (2002) 

reported four genetically divers chemotypes (1) β-
pinene (70%), β-caryophyllene (6.5%) and α-pinene 
(5.4%), (2) α-pinene (65.7%), β-pinene (13.4%) and β-
phellandrene (7.4%), (3) β-caryophyllene (53.9%), 
aromadendrene (10.7%) and   α-selinene (6.3%), (4)  β-
phellandrene (30.2%), β-caryophyllene (24.2%), α-
pinene (15%), (E)-β-ocimene (5%) and aromadendrene 
(4.5%) as major constituents from various parts of India.  
Walde et al. (2005) reported α-pinene (52%) and cis-β-
ocimene (34%) as major constituents in Hyderabad 
plants. 

M. paniculata (L) Jack. syn. Chalcas paniculata L. Chalcas 
exotica (L.) Millsp. is a very variable evergreen shrubby 
plant with small white flowers, small oblong fruits and 
hard wood, planted in gardens as an ornamental in 
many areas of the country.  Leaves are stimulant and 
astringent and are used in the treatment of diarrhea, 
dysentery and diseases of teeth and gum; useful against 
rheumatism, coughs and hysteria (Anonymous, 1962; 
Chopra et al., 1956; Ghani, 2003). The essential oils 
showed significant anti-inflammatory and analgesic 
activities (Dash et al., 2004). Sawangjaroen et al. (2006) 

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The chemical composition of the leaf oils of Murraya koenigii (L.) Spreng and 
M. paniculata (L.) Jack from Bangladesh was studied by gas chromatography 
mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). M. koenigii oil contained 39 compounds of which 
the major is 3-carene (54.2%) followed by caryophyllene (9.5%). Oil of M. 
paniculata contained 58 compounds of which the major are caryophyllene 
oxide (16.6%), β-caryophyllene (11.8%), spathulenol (10.2%), β-elemene 
(8.9%), germacrene D (6.9%) and cyclooctene, 4-methylene-6-(1-propenyli-
dene) (6.4%). The compositions of both oils varied qualitatively and 
quantitatively. 

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Received:  16 May 2008 
Accepted:  19 May 2008 
Available Online:   19 May 2008  

 

DOI: 10.3329/bjp.v3i2.841  
 

Cite this article: 
Chowdhury JU, Bhuiyan MNI, Yusuf 
M. Chemical composition of the leaf 
essential oils of Murraya koenigii (L.) 
Spreng  and  Murraya paniculata (L.) 
Jack. Bangladesh J Pharmacol. 2008; 3: 
59-63. 

Chemical composition of the leaf essential oils of Murraya koenigii 
(L.) Spreng and Murraya paniculata (L.) Jack 

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. You are free to copy, distribute and perform the work. You must attribute 
the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor.  



 

reported, it showed anti-amoebic activities. The leaves 
and other tissues have both stimulant and astringent 
properties and are used to treat diarrhea, dysentery, 
cuts, joint pain, body aches (Parrotta, 2001), venereal 
disease (Kinoshita and Firman, 1996), and as an 
abortive (Xiao and Wang, 1991). In addition to essential 
oils, tissues of orange jasmine contain the indole 
alkaloid yuehchukene (Xiao and Wang, 1991) and at 
least eight highly oxygenated flavones (Kinoshita and 
Firman, 1996), leaves yield oil, which contains sesqui-
terpenes (l-cadinene), α-sesquiterpene alcohol and 
methyl anthranilate (Anonymous, 1962; Chopra et al., 
1956). Nureni et al. (2004) reported, the principal 
constituents of the leaf oil were β-cyclocitral (22.9%), 
methylsalicylate (22.4%), trans-nerolidol (11.7%), α-
cubebene (7.9%), (-)-cubenol (6.8%), β-cubebene (5.8%) 
and isogermacrene (5.7%). The most prominent 
compounds were β-caryophyllene (24.1%), with lesser 
amounts of germacrene D (11.9%) and bicycloger-
macrene (11.8%). Some reports of the chemical 
composition of the leaf oil of M. paniculata of Asian or 
Australian origin have appeared (Garg and Nigam, 
1970; Qiang et al., 1988; Brophy et al., 1994). In our 
study the abundance of 3-carene was the highest. It has 
various medicinal uses (Jeong et al., 2007; Lastbom et 
al., 1998). On the other hand, M. paniculata contained 
abundance of caryophyllene oxide which has antifungal 
activities (Yang et al., 1999). So, the present study deals 
with the investigation of the chemical components in 
oils obtained from leaf of M. koenigii and M. paniculata 
grown in Bangladesh.� 

 

Materials and Methods 

Plant material 

Fresh leaves of M.  koenigii and M. paniculata were 
collected from the plants grown in the campus of BCSIR 
Laboratory, Chittagong during June 2007. Two-voucher 
specimen (Y-325) was deposited in the herbarium of 
BCSIR Laboratory, Chittagong. 

Extraction of essential oil 

Leaves were harvested and air-dried for about one 
week. The oils were obtained by hydrodistillation for 4 
hours in a Clevenger-type apparatus. The oil yields 
(calculated per weight of dried material) were 0.5% for 
M. paniculata and 1.0% for M.  koenigii. The oil samples 
were stored at 0°C in air-tight containers after drying 
them over anhydrous sodium sulfate for gas chromato-
graphy mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) analyses. 

GC-MS analysis 

The essential oil from leaves of M. koenigii and M. 
paniculata were analyzed by GC-MS electron impact 
ionization (EI) method on GC-17A gas chromatograph 

(Shimadzu) coupled to a GC-MS QP 5050A mass 
spectrometer (Shimadzu); fused silica capillary column 
(30 m x 2.5 mm; 0.3 mm film thickness), coated with DB
-1 (J&W); column temperature 100°C (2 min) to 250°C at 
the rate of 3°C/min; carrier gas, helium at constant 
pressure of 90Kpa. Acquisition parameters full scan; 
scan range 40-350 amu.  

Identification of the compounds 

Compound identification was done by comparing the 
NIST library data of the peaks with those reported in 
literature, mass spectra of the peaks with literature 
data. Percentage composition was computed from GC 
peak areas on BP-I column without applying correction 
factors.� 

 

Results and Discussion 

The essential oils from the leaves of M.  koenigii  and M. 
paniculata were analyzed by GC-MS presented in Table 
I. M. koenigii oil contains 39 compounds of which the 
major is 3-carene (54.2%) followed by caryophyllene 
(9.5%). Other notable compounds in the M. koenigii oil 
are  α-thujene  (1.5% ),  allyl(methoxy)dimethylsilane 
(2.6%),    β-myrcene (3.2%),  α-terpinene (2.4%),  g-terpi-
nene (2.7%),  cis-sabinenehydrate (1.5%), 4-terpineol 
(2.8%), β-elemene  (1.9%),  α-caryophyllene (2.8%), g-
elemene (2.96%), caryophyllene oxide (1.02%) and 3-
phenylbutyrophenone  (1.15% ).  Oil  of  M.  paniculata 
contains 58 compounds of which the major are caryo-
phyllene  oxide  (16.63% ),  β-caryophyllene  (11.81% ), 
spathulenol (10.21%), β-elemene (8.94%), germacrene D 
(6.95%) and cyclooctene, 4-methylene-6-(1-pro-penyli-
dene)  (6.37% ).  Other  major  compounds  in  the  M. 
paniculata  oil  are  cyclohexene,  5,6-dietheyl-3-methyl 
(3.30%), d-elemene (3.57%), α-cubebene (2.96%), retinal 
(1%), α-caryophyllene (3.13%), copaene (2.33%), cube-
nol (2.36%), nerolidyl acetate (1.20%), 12-oxabi-cyclo
(9.1.0)dodeca-3,7-diene,1,5,5,8–tetramethyl (2.1%), ere-
mophilene (1.54%), ledol (2.2%) and  aromadendrene 
oxide (1.5%).  The presence of 3-carene as major com-
pound in M. koenigii is not reported from elsewhere, 
completely differs from those reported by Raina et al. 
(2002) and Walde et al. (2005), where pinene, caryophy-
llenes  and  phellandrenes  were  the  predominant 
compounds. This oil may be treated as a natural source 
of 3-carene, which may be studied for any bioactive 
properties for therapeutic uses. Also may serve as a 
useful compound of flavors and fragrances. The oil of 
M. paniculata  also found different from the reports 
(Anonymous, 1962; Chopra et al.,  1956). The study 
reveals that composition of two oils differs from the 
earlier reports and may, therefore be treated as different 
chemotypes.  On the basis  of above fact it  may be 
concluded that M. koenigii and M. paniculata, growing 
widely in Bangladesh, may be utilized as a source for 

60 Bangladesh J Pharmacol 2008; 3: 59-63                                                                



 

 Bangladesh J Pharmacol 2008; 3: 59-63                                                                 61 

Table I 

Constituents of leaf essential oil from M. koenigii and M. paniculata 

  Compounds from M.  koenigii % Compounds from  M.  paniculata % 

1 α-Thujene 1.5 Sabinene 0.1 

2 3-Carene 54.2 3-Hexen-1-ol, formate 0.1 

3 Camphene 0.1 Limonene 0.3 

4 Allyl(methoxy)dimethylsilane 2.6 Linalool 0.1 

5 β-Myrcene 3.2 Cyclohexene,3,4-diethenyl-3-mehyl 0.6 

6 α-Phellandrene 0.1 Cyclohexene,5,6-diethenyl-3-methyl 3.3 

7 α-Terpinene 2.4 Azulene 0.1 

8 m-Cymene 0.3 Ocimene 0.1 

9 Limonene 0.8 cis-3-Hexenyl valerate 0.2 

10 β-Phellandrene 0.5 2-Cyceohexen-1-one, 2-methyl-5-(1-methylethenyl) 0.1 

11 Eucalyptol 0.1 1H-Imidazole -4-methanol,5-methyl 0.1 

12 (E)-Ocimene 0.2 d-Elemene 3.6 

13 g-Terpinene 2.7 α-Cubebene 3.0 

14 cis-Sabinenehydrate 1.5 Germacrene D 6.9 

15 Linalool 0.2 3,9-Dodecadiene 0.1 

16 4-Terpineol 2.8 b-Caryophyllene 11.8 

17 Naphthalene 0.1 Caryophyllene oxide 16.6 

18 Terpinyl acetate 0.1 Cyclooctene, 4-methylene-6-(1-propenylidene) 6.4 

19 cis-Piperitol 0.1 Retinal 1.0 

20 Isobornyl acetate 0.1 α-Caryophyllene 3.1 

21 d-Elemene 0.04 β-Humulene 0.2 

22 Neryl propionate 0.04 Copaene 2.3 

23 1-Chloroheptacosane 0.1 g-Elemene 0.3 

24 β-Elemene 1.9 Cubenol 2.4 

25 Caryophyllene 9.5 α-Bulnesene 0.1 

26 α-Caryophyllene 2.8 Calamenene 0.3 

27 Eudesma-4(14),11-diene 0.2 3-Tetradecynoic acid 0.2 

28 g-Elemene 2.0 Lanceol, cis 0.3 

29 d-Cadinene 0.1 β-Vatirenine 0.1 

30 Nerolidyl acetate 0.2 β-Elemene 8.9 

31 Caryophyllene oxide 1.0 Nerolidyl acetate 1.2 

32 12-Oxabicyclo[9.1.0]dodeca-3,7-diene, 
1,5,5,8-tetramethyl- 

0.1 Alloaromadendrene oxide 0.3 

33 1,4-Methanoazulen-9-ol, decahydro-
1,5,5,8a-tetramethyl 

0.1 Spathulenol 10.2 

  Compounds from M.  koenigii  Compounds from  M.  paniculata  

34 Cubenol 0.1 D-Verbenone 0.6 

35 2(1H)-Naphthalenone, 4a,5,6,7,8,8a-
hexahydro-4a,8a-dimethyl- 

0.1 Pyrimdine-2(1H) thione, 3,4-dihydro -6-methyl, 4-phenyl 0.5 

36 α-Cadinol 0.1 3-Carene 0.9 

37 Juniper camphor 0.5 12-Oxabicyclo(9,1,0) dodeca-3,7-diene,1,5,5,8 - tetrame-
thyl 

2.1 

38 3-Phenylbutyrophenone 1.2 Globulol 0.2 

39 Phytol 0.9 Eremophilene 1.5 



 

the isolation of natural  3-carene and caryophyllene 
oxide respectively. 

 

References 
Anonymous. The wealth of India: The raw materials. India, 

CSIR, 1962, 6, pp 446-48. 

Brophy JJ, Forsterand PI, Goldsack RJ. Diversity in Australian 
populations of Murraya paniculata (Rutaceae): New evidence 
from volatile leaf oils. Australian Syst Bot. 1994; 7: 409-18.  

Chopra RN, Nayar SL, Chopra IC. Glossary of Indian medi-
cinal plants. India, CSIR, 1956, p 171. 

Dash GK, Patro CP, Maiti AK. Anti-inflammatory and anal-
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Garg SC, Nigam SS. Chemical study of an essential oil from 
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Hiremath SM, Madalageri BB, Basarkar PW. Composition of 
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62 Bangladesh J Pharmacol 2008; 3: 59-63                                                                

Table I 

Constituents of leaf essential oil from M. koenigii and M. paniculata (Cont.) 

  Compounds from M.  koenigii % Compounds from  M.  paniculata % 

41     Tau-Muurolol 0.9 

42     Ledol 2.2 

43     Aromadendrene oxide 1.5 

44     α-Calaconene 0.3 

45     Longifolenealdehyde 0.6 

46     11-Hexadecyn-1-ol 0.2 

47     Cycloisolongifolene, 8-hydroxyendo 0.3 

48     Longipinocarveol, trans 0.2 

49     Carveol 0.1 

50     1-Cyclohexene-1-ethanol, 2,6,6-trimethyl 0.1 

51     1-Methyl verbenol 0.2 

52     Cyclopropane, 1-bromo-2,2,3,3-tetramethyl-1prop-1-ynyl 0.2 

53     Corymbolone 0.1 

54     2(4a,8-Dimethyl-1, 3,3,4,4a,5,6,7-octahydro-naphthalene-
2-yl) -prop-2-en-1-ol 

0.1 

55     Ledene alcohol 0.7 

56     Aristolene oxide 0.3 

57     6-Isopropenyl-4,8a-dimethyl 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,8a, octahydro 
naphthalen-2-ol 

1.0 

58     Longifolene-[12]-epoxide 0.1 

40     2(1H) Naphthalenone, 4a,5,6,7,8,8a-hexahydro, 4a,8a-
dimethyl 

0.3 



 

Author Info 
Md. Nazrul Islam Bhuiyan (Principal contact) 
e-mail: nazrul119@yahoo.com 

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Sawangjaroen N, Phongpaichit S, Subhadhirasakul S, Visutthi 

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Walde GS, Joythirmay T, Rao PGP, Shivaswamy R, Srinivas P. 
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Yang D, Michel L, Chaumont JP, Millet Clerc J. Use of 
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1999; 148: 79-82.  

 Bangladesh J Pharmacol 2008; 3: 59-63                                                                 63