Abstract
<jats:p>Clerodendrum squamatum Vahl, locally known as sesewanua, remains insufficiently characterized by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). This study retrospectively evaluated an archived GC–MS dataset of powdered leaves to establish a preliminary and artifact-aware chemical fingerprint. Thirty integrated peaks were detected between 7.57 and 39.21 min, with a total chromatographic area of 23,281,445.578 counts·min. Peaks 1–9 accounted for 58.60% of the normalized area and generated library candidates associated with monoterpenes, long-chain aldehydes, phytol-related diterpenoids, and fatty-acid methyl esters. The predominant signal at 16.25 min represented 29.93% and was conservatively annotated as an octadecenal isomer with an unresolved double-bond position. Other plausible signals included a neophytadiene/phytol-related diterpenoid and an unresolved octadecenoic acid methyl ester. Peaks 10–15 were structurally ambiguous, while the late-eluting region represented 33.30% of the chromatographic area and was dominated by siloxane-related or mixed-background spectra. All annotations remain tentative because authentic standards, experimental retention indices, blank chromatograms, and replicate analyses were unavailable. The findings provide an initial GC–MS baseline for sesewanua leaves while emphasizing the importance of distinguishing plausible botanical signals from analytical background.</jats:p>