Characterization of Sulfur-Compounds as Chemotaxonomic Markers in the Essential Oils of Allium Species by Solvent-Free Microwave Extraction and Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

Allium species were examined to authenticate the chemotaxonomic controversy about these plants by analyzing their extracted compound profiles. Essential oils of various species were isolated using conventional hydro-distillation and solvent-free microwave extraction (SFME). A comparison of the isolation procedures was performed. The presence of sulfur compounds in the Allium genus is a prominent characteristic for their medicinal uses. These components were characterized using two-way hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA). The variation of sulfur-compounds was performed by qualitative analysis of Allium species by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). 2,4-Dimethyl-5,6-dithia-2,7-nonadienal, 4,6-diethyl-1,2,3,5-tetrathiolane, and 5,7-diethyl-1,2,3,4,6-pentathiepane were revealed as potential chemotaxonomic markers for all of the Alliums examined in this study. These markers may be used to provide improved systematics for other Allium species.