Study of seasonal variations in the component composition of essential oil of rosemary of Dagestan origin

Introduction. Information on the seasonal variability of essential oils has a key decision in determining the seasons of harvesting: the variation of component composition should be minimal, and the concentration ranges should correspond to those established in the regulatory documentation, while the maximum possible yield of essential oil should be observed. Rosemary grows in the south of the Russian Federation (the Republic of Crimea, the Caucasus) and the chromatographic profile of its essential oil is not fixed in the regulatory documentation, and in the Russian-language scientific literature there are no studies of seasonal variations in the component composition of essential oil, despite the fact that in the Republic of Dagestan rosemary blooms almost year-round.

Aim. Study of seasonal variations in the essential oil of the rosemary of Dagestan origin.

Materials and methods. Estimation of essential oil content was carried out in accordance with the requirements of the European Pharmacopoeia 11th edition by hydrodistillation using a Clevenger apparatus. Gas chromatographic analysis was carried out using a gas chromatograph Crystal 5000.2 equipped with a flame ionization detector, separation was carried out on fixed phase columns of different polarity: HP-5MS UI and DB-WAX. The components were identified by comparing the calculated linear retention indices obtained on two columns of different polarity with reference values.

Results and discussion. The content of essential oil of rosemary in the plant raw material ranged from 2.06 to 2.24 %. Statistical analysis revealed no significant differences between the results obtained during the experiment. According to the results of gas chromatographic was able to establish α-pinene chemotype of essential oil of Dagestan origin. In the samples of essential oils 30 compounds were identified, constituting at least 95 % of their composition. When interpreting the results of statistical processing of the content of components depending on the date of collection of raw materials, significant differences were noted for the majority of major components.

Conclusion. The study was the first to describe the component composition of essential oil of rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus Spenn., seu Rosmarinus officinalis L.) of Dagestan origin. Detected during the study statistically significant differences in the content of components depending on the date of collection of plant raw materials can be used for chromatographic profiling of essential oil of rosemary of Dagestan origin. This approach will allow not only to reflect the geographical variability of the component composition, but also seasonal. 

1. Aziz E., Batool R., Akhtar W., Shahzad T., Malik A., Shah M. A., Iqbal S., Rauf A., Zengin G., Bouyahya A., Rebezov M., Dutta N., Khan M. U., Khayrullin M., Babaeva M., Goncharov A., Shariati M. A., Thiruvengadam M. Rosemary species: a review of phytochemicals, bioactivities and industrial applications. South African Journal of Botany. 2022;151(B):3–18. DOI: 10.1016/j.sajb.2021.09.026.

2. De Macedo L. M., dos Santos É. M., Militão L., Tundisi L. L., Ataide J. A., Barbosa Souto E. B., Mazzola P. G. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L., syn Salvia rosmarinus Spenn.) and Its Topical Applications: A Review. Plants. 2020;9(5):651. DOI: 10.3390/plants9050651.

3. Rašković A., Milanović I., Pavlović N., Ćebović T., Vukmirović S., Mikov M. Antioxidant activity of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) essential oil and its hepatoprotective potential. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2014;14:225. DOI: 10.1186/1472-6882-14-225.

4. Ojeda-Sana A. M., van Baren C. M., Elechosa M. A., Juárez M. A., Moreno S. New insights into antibacterial and antioxidant activities of rosemary essential oils and their main components. Food Control. 2013;31(1):189–195. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2012.09.022.

5. Nieto G., Ros G., Castillo J. Antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis, L.): A review. Medicines. 2018;5(3):98. DOI: 10.3390/medicines5030098.

6. Becer E., Altundağ E. M., Güran M., Vatansever H. S., Ustürk S., Hanoğlu D. Y., Başer, K. H. C. Composition and antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer activities of Rosmarinus officinalis L. essential oil. South African Journal of Botany. 2023;160:437–445. DOI: 10.1016/j.sajb.2023.07.028.

7. Burtseva Ye. V., Katsev A. M., Kuldyrkaeva E. V., Mekhonoshina I. S., Timasheva L. A., Pekhova O. A. Study of the Chemical Composition and Biological Effects of Aromatic Waters in a Comparative Aspect. Drug development & registration. 2023;12(4):197–208. (In Russ.) DOI: 10.33380/2305-2066-2023-12-4-1526.

8. Sadeh D., Nitzan N., Chaimovitsh D., Shachter A., Ghanim M., Dudai N. Interactive effects of genotype, seasonality and extraction method on chemical compositions and yield of essential oil from rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.). Industrial Crops and Products. 2019;138:111419. DOI: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2019.05.068.

9. Li G., Cervelli C., Ruffoni B., Shachter A., Dudai N. Volatile diversity in wild populations of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) from the Tyrrhenian Sea vicinity cultivated under homogeneous environmental conditions. Industrial Crops and Products. 2016;84:381–390. DOI: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2016.02.029.

10. Özcan M. M., Chalchat J.-C. Chemical composition and antifungal activity of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) oil from Turkey. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition. 2008;59(7–8):691–698. DOI: 10.1080/09637480701777944.

11. Lemos M. F., Lemos M. F., Pacheco H. P., Endringer D. C., Scherer R. Seasonality modifies rosemary’s composition and biological activity. Industrial Crops and Products. 2015;70:41–47. DOI: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2015.02.062.

12. Lakušić D., Ristić M., Slavkovska V., Lakušić B. Seasonal variations in the composition of the essential oils of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis, Lamiaceae). Natural Product Communications. 2013;8(1):131–134.

13. Verma R. S., Padalia R. C., Chauhan A., Upadhyay R. K., Singh V. R. Productivity and essential oil composition of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) harvested at different growth stages under the subtropical region of north India. Journal of Essential Oil Research. 2020;32(2):144–149.

14. Rathore S., Mukhia S., Kapoor S., Bhatt V., Kumar R., Kumar R. Seasonal variability in essential oil composition and biological activity of Rosmarinus officinalis L. accessions in the western Himalaya. Scientific Reports. 2022;12(1):3305.

15. Salido S., Altarejos J., Nogueras M., Saánchez A., Luque P. Chemical composition and seasonal variations of rosemary oil from southern Spain. Journal of Essential Oil Research. 2003;15(1):10–14.

16. Farhani F., El Aboudi A., Boujraf A., Dallahi Y. Influence of Harvest Time and Environmental Factors on the Yield and Chemical Composition of Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) Essential Oil in Northeast Morocco. Ecological Engineering & Environmental Technology (EEET). 2024;25(11):1–17. DOI: 10.12912/27197050/191265.

17. Celiktas O. Y., Kocabas E. H., Bedir E., Sukan F. V., Ozek T., Baser K. H. C. Antimicrobial activities of methanol extracts and essential oils of Rosmarinus officinalis, depending on location and seasonal variations. Food Chemistry. 2007;100(2):553–559.

18. Papageorgiou V., Gardeli C., Mallouchos A., Papaioannou M., Komaitis M. Variation of the chemical profile and antioxidant behavior of Rosmarinus officinalis L. and Salvia fruticosa Miller grown in Greece. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2008;56(16):7254–7264. DOI: 10.1021/jf800802t.

19. Ermachenkov R. E., Markov A. L., Agaev M. M., Burtseva E. V., Terninko I. I. Study of component features of essential oils of Rosmarinus officinalis and Salvia sclarea of Crimean origin. Drug development & registration. 2024;13(4):161–179. (In Russ.) DOI: 10.33380/2305-2066-2024-13-4-1832.

20. Adams R. P. Identification of Essential Oil Components by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry. 4th ed. Carol Stream: Allured Publishing; 2017.

21. Babushok V. I., Linstrom P. J., Zenkevich I. G. Retention indices for frequently reported compounds of plant essential oils. Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data. 2011;40(4):043101. DOI: 10.1063/1.3653552.

22. Draczynska B., Cagara Cz., Siewinski A., Rymkiewicz A., Zabza A., Leufvèn A., Biotransformation of pinenes; XVII. Transformation of α- and β-pinenes by means of Armillariella mellea (honey fungus), a parasite of woodlands. Journal of Basic Microbiology. 1985;25:487–492.