The genus Levisticum, belonging to the Umbelliferae family, is represented in the flora of Iran by only one species, Levisticum officinale Koch. (Lovage) [1,2]. This plant has been cultivated in European countries for a long time and the essential oil composition studied as well [3,4]. All parts of the plant exhibit a strong flavor generally characteristic of celery. The root extract has a warm-spicy note, but the seeds and leaf flavor are more diffusive and penetrating [5]. The essential oil from the roots, leaves, and seeds of L. officinale are used in the food, beverage, perfumery, and tobacco industries. The root of the plant has also been known for centuries as a traditional medicine possessing spasmolytic, diuretic, and carminative activities [5][6][7][8][9]. Many methods have been used for the isolation of volatiles from the different parts of L. officinale. The variation of oil composition depends on the isolation method, the parts of the plant, harvesting, and geographical location [10][11][12].It is noteworthy that our previous study was carried out regarding the water-distilled essential oil obtained from the aerial parts of L. officinale growing wild in Iran. Results showed that the major components were D-terpinyl acetate (40.5%) and E-phellandrene (16.7%) [13].In this work, hydrodistilled essential oils from crushed dry leaves, stems, seeds, and roots of L. officinale Koch. from Hezar Mountains, Kerman Province (Iran) were separately studied by GC and GC/MS. A voucher specimen (No. 93801) has been deposited in the Herbarium of the Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands (TARI), Tehran, Iran. The air-dried leaves, stems, seeds, and roots of the plant yielded 3.2%, 2.9%, 3.8%, and 3.4% (w/w) of a light yellowish colored oil, respectively.GC analysis of the volatile components was carried out using a Hewlett-Packard 6890 instrument coupled to a flame ionization detector (FID). Compounds were separated on a HP-5 capillary column (5% phenylmethylpolysiloxane, 30 m u 0.25 mm, film thickness 0.25 Pm). The column temperature was kept at 60qC for 5 min and programmed to 220qC at a rate of 7qC/min. Injector and detector temperatures were 270qC, and the flow rate of helium as carrier gas was 1 mL/min. GC/MS analysis was performed using a Hewlett-Packard 5973 mass spectrometer coupled to a Hewlett-Packard 6890 gas chromatograph equipped with a HP-5MS capillary column (5% phenylmethylpolysiloxane, 30 m u 0.25 mm, film thickness 0.25 Pm). The carrier gas was helium and the chromatographic conditions were as above. MS were taken at 70 eV.All constituents of the oils, which were identified on the basis of their mass spectral characteristics and retention indices [14], are listed in Table 1. As is shown, 19 and 15 components (95.34% and 97.35%) were identified in the leaf and seed oils. The major components were J-terpinene (14.52% and 12.37%), E-phellandrene (13.85% and 15.54%), (Z)-E-ocimene (12.91% and 23.70%), and D-terpinyl acetate (8.68% and 10.68%). In the stem oil, 20 compounds (90.72%) were identified,...
