Comparative Study of the Essential Oils from the Leaves, Trunk Bark and Roots of Erythrophleum ivorense A. Chev. (Fabaceae), Collected in Agboville (Côte d’Ivoire)

Abstract

Erythrophleum ivorense A. Chev. (Fabaceae) is a medicinal tree widely used in traditional African medicine, with different plant parts employed for various therapeutic purposes. Although previous phytochemical investigations have mainly focused on its non-volatile constituents, the volatile fraction remains poorly characterised. In particular, comparative information on the essential-oil composition of the leaves, trunk bark, and roots is limited, despite the potential for organ-specific chemical variation. The aim of this study was to determine and compare the chemical composition of essential oils extracted from the leaves, bark and roots of Erythrophleum ivorense A. Chev. (Fabaceae), and to discuss the pharmacological potential of their major constituents. Samples were collected in September 2025, during the rainy season, from three mature trees in the Agboville Protected Forest (Agnéby-Tiassa region, south-east Côte d’Ivoire). The essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus (European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare, 2019, General Chapter 2.8.12), and then analysed by GC/MS and GC/FID (Agilent 7890B GC system) to identify the constituents on the basis of retention indices and comparison of mass spectra. Hydrodistillation yielded 0.084 per cent (leaves), 0.036% (trunk bark) and 0.062% (root bark). GC/MS and GC/FID analyses identified 54 compounds in the leaves, 47 in the trunk bark and 51 in the root bark. Hydrocarbon sesquiterpenes dominated all three oils, with β-caryophyllene as the major compound (18.34% in the leaves, 24.67% in the trunk bark, 20.18% in the root bark). Oxygenated monoterpenes accounted for 20.56% of the leaf oil, 15.26% of the trunk-bark oil and 24.52% of the root-bark oil; the corresponding 1,8-cineole contents were 12.47%, 5.83% and 8.34%, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the composition of the essential oils from the leaves, bark and roots of E. ivorense. The range of compounds detected may help to explain the plant’s pharmacological potential and may guide further phytochemical research.