Yield, Composition and Chemotypes of Essential Oils from Origanum vulgare L. Aerial Parts Cultivated in Different Euro-Pean Countries

Authors:
Preprint
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Origanum vulgare L. (Lamiaceae) is widely used in the food, pharmaceutical, perfumery and cosmetic industries for the needs for which this raw material is cultivated. O. vulgare is a polymorphic species with subspecies, which differ in the structure of their reproductive organs, the location of essential oil (EO) trichomes, and the composition of EO. Therefore, it is very important to identify the most valuable chemotypes of the species and cultivate them more widely. The aim of the research was to study the chemical composition of O. vulgare EO from aerial parts (n=17) of cultivated plants (leaves, leaves and flowers, flowering tops) from different European countries (n=5), to determine the dynamics of EO yield and its components accumulation depending on vegetation phases, and to establish chemotypes of O. vulgare, which are the most promising for cultivation. EOs from the raw materials were obtained by hydrodistillation according to the European Pharmacopoeia method; their analysis was carried out by GC-MS. 17 studied samples of O. vulgare aerial parts from Estonia, Turkey, Scotland, Moldova and Italy contained 1.9 - 11.0 mL/kg of EO. The highest yields of the EO have been found in the samples from Moldova (11.0 mL/kg) and Italy (9.3 mL/kg). In total, 89 substances were identified in the studied EOs, and the ratios of terpene groups and correlations between the content of individual components were established. The highest content of EO was noted in the phase of full flowering (5.1 mL/kg), and in the phase of the end of blooming, the EO oil content slightly decreased (4.8 mL/kg). The six chemotypes of O. vulgare rich in 1) caryophyllene oxide; 2) sabinene; 3) caryophyllene oxide - (E)-β-caryophyllene; 4) (E)-β-caryophyllene; 5) carvacrol, and 6) thymol - carvacrol were found. In terms of quantitative EO content of O. vulgare, none of the studied samples (n=17) and in terms of total carvacrol and thymol, most of the samples (n=15) did not meet the minimum standards of the European Pharmacopoeia. When cultivating O. vulgare for the pharmaceutical industry, it is necessary to proceed from plant propagation material rich in EO and chemotypes rich in carvacrol and thymol.
All Related Versions