VOLATILE CONSTITUENTS OF THE DRIED LEAVES OF CASSIA-ANGUSTIFOLIA AND CASSIA-ACUTIFOLIA (SENNAE-FOLIUM)

The official drug Sennae folium (obtained from Cassia angustifolia and /or C. acutifolia) was found to contain small amounts of volatiles (0. 047% based on dry weight) which were analyzed in detail by CC and GYMS . More than 200 compounds could be detected, 122 of them were identifi ed, representing about 90.7% of the peak area of the total mixture. Th e volatile constituents can be classified into moneterpenoids (8.8% fo r sample A and 34.6% for B), sesquiterpenoids (4.2% and 4.0%, respecti vely), phenylpropanoids (4.2%/15.2%), fatty acids and esters (54.3%/14 .2%), and miscellaneous compounds (19.3%/22.7%). Apart from hexadecano ic acid which was strong in both samples (36.8%/9.7%), the occurrence of menthol, geranylacetone, and (E)-anethole is of interest.