Exploring Sicilian accession of <i>Daucus muricatus</i> (L.) L.: chemical composition of flower and root’s essential oils

<i>Daucus</i> L. (Apiaceae) is a genus distributed worldwide, with the Mediterranean area serving as the centre of its diversity. <i>Daucus muricatus</i> (L.) L. is an annual plant growing primarily in the temperate biome. For the first time, in this research the chemical composition of the essential oil (EO) from flowers and roots of a Sicilian accession of this plant, was evaluated by GC–MS. An update of all the EOs of the <i>Daucus</i> species was carried out and compared to these data the volatile profile of the EO obtained from the Sicilian accessions of <i>D. muricatus</i> is rather particular. Flower and root EOs (<i>Dmf</i> and <i>Dmr</i>, respectively) showed alkanes as the main class, accounting for 27.2% and 60.0%, respectively. Both EOs were also characterised by the presence of alloaromadendrene oxide (15.6% in <i>Dmr</i> and 11.5% in <i>Dmf</i>). <i>Dmf</i> also showed a good amount of sabinene (11.6%), which is totally absent in <i>Dmr</i>.