Evaluation of essential oil content and components in different organs of Hymenocrater longiflorus Benth. growing in natural habitat of Kurdistan province

Hymenocrater longiflorus Benth. belongs to the Lamiaceae family, is a medicinal and aromatic plant native to Iran. The antimicrobial, antifungal and antioxidant properties of this plant have been proven and its aerial part is used in the treatment of skin diseases. In this study, the aerial part of this plant was collected from its natural habitat and then the essential oils of different organs (leaf, flower and stem) were extracted by water distillation method using a clevenger apparatus. The essential oils were analyzed using GC/MS and GC/FID. The results indicated that the essential oil content of leaves (0.4%) was much higher than flowers (0.2%) and stems (0.2%). In all three organs, sesquiterpenes formed the major part of the essential oil. The highest amount of monoterpene hydrocarbons (20.11%), oxygenated monoterpenes (17.36%), sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (50.69%) and oxygenated sesquiterpenes (27.89%) were observed in the essential oils of stem, leaf, flower and stem organs, respectively. The dominant components of leaf essential oil were β-elemol, bicyclosesquiphellandrene, α-pinene and 1,8-cineole, respectively. Bicyclosesquiphellandrene, β-elemol, β-calarene and linalool were as the major components of flower essential oil. The main constituents of stem essential oil were β-elemol, bicyclosesquiphellandrene, α-pinene and sabinene, respectively. The observed diversity in the essential oil content and composition of different organs of Hymenocrater longiflorus Benth. can be useful for identify and exploit the desired genotypes in order to domestication, cultivation and breeding of this plant.