Cymbidium sp.
has several ornamental, medicinal and cosmetic uses. Essential oils were
obtained through extraction by hydrodistillation of flower and pedicellate
ovary. The chromatographic profile was obtained by thin layer chromatography
(TLC), combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS), for the
identification and relative quantification of various substances in three
samples from the orchid (flower, pedicellate ovary and aqueous residue). With
TLC, five compounds were identified in the flower, with the most abundant being
terpineol, linalool and zingiberene, and five in the pedicellate ovary, with
borneol, cineole, and β-bisabolene
being in the greatest concentration, while for the aqueous residue, the most abundant was geraniol. Using
GC/MS, 25 volatile components associated with the flower were identified, of
which the most abundant were linalool (22.92%), 4-methyl-phenol (15.07%) and p-Menth-1-en-8-ol (12.32%). In pedicellate ovaries, 13 components were identified, with
the most abundant being 4-methyl-phenol (31.24%), bicycle [4.4.0] dec-1-ene,
2-isopropyl-5-methyl-9-methylene-(17.74%) and 2-hexanone (10.24%), while in the aqueous residue 18
components were found, with the most abundant being 4-methyl-phenol (18.71%)
and 2- cyclohexen-1-ol
(14.60%).