Chemical Differentiation of Rhizome and Root Essential Oils of Indian Valerian (Valeriana jatamansi Jones)

Abstract

To see the differences occur in the essential oil yield and composition of rhizomes and roots of the Indian Valerian (Valeriana jatamansi) grows wild; populations were collected from three diverse locations in western Himalaya. Both underground organs showed considerable variation in their yield and quality attributes. Essential oil yield was higher in roots (0.35-0.43 %) as compared rhizomes (0.05-0.08 %) of all populations. The amounts of patchouli alcohol (21.3-55.1 %), maaliol (1.4-27.3 %), isovaleric acid (3.1-5.0 %), and viridiflorol (0.9-2.1 %) were observed to be higher in rhizome oils, whereas the amounts of α-bulnesene (6.0-13.1 %), α-guaiene (6.0-8.7 %), bornyl acetate (1.9-2.3 %), 7-epi-α-selinene (1.1-2.2 %), γ-patchoulene (0.7-1.7 %), and β-elemene (0.6-1.2 %) were relatively higher in root oils of all investigated populations.