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Essential oil are known for their importance in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and primarily used in the food industries as
flavourings and antimicrobials and sometimes as insecticidal and pesticidal agents. Many synthetic chemicals have
been used to prevent post-harvest spoilage of perishable agricultural produces but they have been found to have
detrimental health effects on consumers. Essential oils were extracted from the inflorescence and leaf of Hyptis
suaveolens by hydro-distillation method. The percentage yields of the essential oils were 2.08% and 2.00%
respectively. The number of compounds isolated from the inflorescence and leaf of Hyptis suaveolens were 22 and 27
respectively. The major compounds isolated from the inflorescence essential oils were 3-Cyclohexen-1-ol (26.51%),
Caryophyllene (15.75%), Bicyclo-hexane(15.60%), Cyclohexane (7.61%) and Bergamotol, Z-alpha (trans)
(5.21%). The total peak area of the oxygenated compounds was 44.46% and the total peak area of the non-oxygenated
compounds was 55.54%. The major chemical constituents foundin the leaf essential oil were gamma-Terpinene
(24.45%), Caryophyllene (11.08%), Cyclohexene (6.93%), 2,6,6-Trimethylbicyclohept-2-ene (6.27%), alpha-
Phellandrene (6.16%), 1,3-Cyclohexadiene, Terpinen-4-ol (5.18%) and 1,3-Cyclohexadiene (5.02%). The total peak
area of the oxygenated compounds was 14.00%, while the total peak area of the non-oxygenated compounds was
86.00%. The essential oils of Hyptis suaveolens inflorescence and leaf were both monoterpene dominated. The
findings of this work showed mixtures of both oxygenated and predominantly non-oxygenated compounds; which
may serve as any or combinations insecticide, pesticides and possible inhibitors of spoilage aerobic microorganisms
and may subsequently lead to a delayed spoilage process of some perishable agricultural produce during storage.
Keywords: Hyptis suaveolens, leaf, inflorescence, essential oil, natural food preservative.