Chemical Composition and Larvicidal Activity of the Essential Oil of Laurus nobilis L. from Iran

The chemical composition of the essential oil obtained from the aerial parts oflaurus nobilis l. has been examined by gas chromatography (gc) and gc- massspectrometery (ms). the main components of the oil were identified. 1,8-cineolewas the major component in the oil together with -terpinyl acetate, terpinene-4-ol, -pinene, -pinene, p-cymene, linalool and terpinene-4-ylacetate. the essentialoil was tested against anopheles stephensi and culex pipiens larvae. the resultsobtained show that the essential oil could be considered as natural larvicidal agents.