Chemical Diversity in Volatiles of Helichrysum plicatum DC. Subspecies in Turkey

In the present work three subspecies of Helichrysum plicatum DC. (Helichrysum plicatum DC. subsp. plicatum, Helichrysum plicatum DC. subsp. polyphillum (Ledeb) P.H.Davis & Kupicha and Helichrysum plicatum DC. subsp. isauricum Parolly) were investigated for the essential oil chemical compositions. The volatiles were obtained by conventional hydrodistillation of aerial parts and microdistillation of inflorescences. Subsequent gas chromatography (GC-FID) and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC/MS) revealed chemical diversity in compositions of the volatiles analyzed.

A total of 199 compounds were identified representing 73.9-98.3% of the volatiles compositions. High abundance of fatty acids and their esters (24.9-70.8%) was detected in the herb volatiles of H. plicatum subsp. polyphyllum and H. plicatum subsp. isauricum.

The inflorescences of Helichrysum subspecies were found to be rich in monoterpenes (15.0-93.1%), fatty acids (0.1-36.3%) and sesquiterpenes (1.1-25.5%). The inflorescence volatiles of H. plicatum subsp. isauricum were distinguished by predomination of monoterpene hydrocarbons (93.1%) with fenchene (88.3%) as the major constituent