Essential Oils of CultivatedHeteropyxis natalensis(Harv.) and CultivatedHeteromorpha trifoliata(Wendl.) Eckl. & Zey. from Zimbabwe

The plant material from organically cultivated Heteropyxis natalensis (Harv.) and cultivated Heteromorpha trifoliata (Wendl.) Eckl. & Zey., from Zimbabwe were steam distilled for essential oils and their composition compared with those from wild plants. The major components in the oil from the summer of semi-dry cultivated H. natalensis were: 1,8-cineole (20.7–32.1%), linalool (21.7–26.8%), limonene (13.1–16.5%), myrcene (3.7–9.3%) and (Z)-β-ocimene (2.3–12.4%). The wild plant had linalool (26.5%), 1,8-cineole (24.7%) and limonene (13.3%) as major components in the summer and 1,8-cineole (37.2%) and limonene (22.1%) as major components in the winter/dry season. The oil from the fresh cultivated H. trifoliata had sabinene (15.7–30.0%), limonene (9.5–15.7%) and (Z)-β-ocimene (7.1–12.2%), myrcene (8.5–11.1%) and δ-3-carene (3.6–10.1%) as major components. The oil from the wild semi-dry herb had limonene (15.4%) and sabinene (13.7%) as the main components. The cultivation of indigenous medicinal plants is intended to promote their rational use and conservation.