Essential oil composition and variability of Hypericum perforatum from wild populations of northern Turkey

Context: Hypericum perforatum L. (Guttiferae) contains many bioactive secondary metabolites including hypericins, hyperforins, and essential oil.Objective: The present study was conducted to det. the variation in compn. of essential oil in H. perforatum accessions from Turkey.Material and methods: At full flowering, aerial parts of 30 plants were collected from 10 sites of northern Turkey and assayed for essential oil components by GC-FID and GC-MS.Results: The chem. anal. revealed that the main constituents of the all analyzed samples were hydrocarbon and oxygenated sesquiterpenes such as β-caryophyllene (4.08-5.93%), γ-muurolene (5.00-9.56%), β-selinene (5.08-19.63%), α-selinene (4.12-10.42%), d-cadinene (3.02-4.94%), spathulenol (2.34-5.14%), and caryophyllene oxide (6.01-12.18%). Monoterpenes, both hydrocarbon and oxygenated, were represented by scarce amts. of α- and β-pinene, myrcene, linalool, cis- and trans-linalool oxide, and α-terpineol. Principal component anal. was also carried out and, according to the results, the first nine principal components were found to represent 100% of the obsd. variation.Discussion: The chem. variation among the populations is discussed as the possible result of different genetic and environmental factors.Conclusions: The wild populations examd. here are potentially important sources for breeding and improvement of the cultivated varieties