Aerial parts were air-dried in shade at room temperature and the leafless woody stalks discarded. The dried sample was subsequently comminuted using a hammer mill. The moisture contents were kept below 102.The oils were extracted from 100.0 g of plant material by hydrodistillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus until total recovery of oil (Ca.8 h). The oils were dried over anhydrous sodium sulphate and stored at 5 c,for further analysis.