Abstract
A. Tkachev, N. Nekratova, N. Belousova, M. Shurupova* and W. Letchamo
Schizonepeta multifida (L.) Briq. (Lamiaceae) is among the widely used botanicals in Siberian traditional and modern health and personal care practices, shelf life extension of agricultural produce, antimicrobial, and insect repellent. We investigated the variations or differences in the chemical composition of essential oils in wild accessions harvested from two distinct geographical regions, ‘habitat-1’ and ‘habitat-2’, in the Republic of Khakassia, Siberia. The oils were obtained by subjecting the aboveground parts of the plant to hydro-distillation, with subsequent assessment of the chemical composition using GC-FID and GC-MS analyses. The oil composition varied quite a lot according the number of components (61 in samples from ‘habitat-1’, 45 in sample from ‘habitat-2’), the dominant components (pulegone 33.36 %, limonene 20.95 %, cis-beta-ocimene 9.96 % and isomenthone 5.31 % from ‘habitat-1’, limonene 27.98 %, cis-beta-ocimene 14.42 %, pulegone 14.20 %, beta-myrcene 11.95 %, and terpinolene 6.33 % from ‘habitat-2’). In light of the continued overharvesting resulting in genetic erosion, further studies are warranted to establish in-situ and ex-situ conservation strategies of all populations representing different chemotypes/ecotypes and identifying promising genetic lines for sustainable cultivation as a source of renewable raw material for the oil.