Fatty acid composition and chemotaxonomic evaluation of species of Stachys

The fatty acid composition of the seed oil of 23 Stachys taxa was analysed by GC/MS. The main compounds were found to be linoleic (27.1-64.3%), oleic (20.25-48.1%), palmitic (4.3-9.1%), stearic (trace to 5.2%) and 6-octadecynoic (2.2-34.1%) acids. The latter compound could be used as a chemotaxonomic marker of the genus Stachys. A cluster analysis was performed for comparison and characterisation of the seed oil from Stachys species.