Essential oil composition of Reseda lutea from Iran

Abstract

The genus Reseda is one of the herbs in the Resedaceae family [1]. In Iran, this genus is represented by 10 species, including Reseda lutea L. [1]. R. lutea, known as yellow mignonette or wild mignonette, has economic importance. It has been used as a medicinal plant, in salads, in the carpet and rug industry as a source of natural dye, in animal husbandry as a grazing plant and stock food source, in honey production, in combating erosion, and as a primary succession plant [2, 3]. On the other hand, the species is regarded as a weed in some parts of the world, especially in cultivated areas [4]. Sener et al. also reported that the extract of R. lutea possesses pharmacological activities against insects, brine shrimp, nematodes, and microorganisms [5]. Likewise, Nakhatov et al. isolated some alkaloids from the epigeal parts of R. lutea [6]. In this study, due to its economic importance and wide distribution in Iran, the essential oil composition of R. lutea was investigated for the first time. The essential oil components obtained from the aerial part of R. lutea are listed in Table 1, where the percentage and Kovats indices of the components are given. As shown in Table 1, analysis of the aerial parts oil of R. lutea resulted in the identification of 42 constituents, representing 95.6% of the oil. The main constituents of the oil were benzonitrile (17.9%), (Z)-phytol (13.0%), n-heptacosane (7.5%) -ionone (6.2%), hexahydrofarnesyl acetone (5.1%), and palmitic acid (4.6%). The aerial parts of R. lutea were collected during the flowering stage in the Alamut region, province of Qazvin, Iran, in May 2010. Voucher specimens (No. 8273) have been deposited at the Herbarium of the Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands (TARI), Tehran, Iran. The aerial parts (133.0 g) of the plant were subjected to hydrodistillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus and extracted by diethyl ether for 3 hrs. After decanting, drying over anhydrous sodium sulfate, and evaporating of the solvent, the corresponding yellow colored oil was recovered in a yield of 0.05% w/w. GC-FID analysis was performed on a Shimadzu 15A gas chromatograph equipped with a split/splitless (ratio 1:30) injector (250 C) and a flame ionization detector (250 C). Nitrogen was used as the carrier gas (1 mL/min), together with a DB-5 capillary column (50 m 0.2 mm, film thickness 0.32 m). The column was kept at 60 C for 3 min and then heated to 220 C with a 5 C/min rate and kept constant at 220 C for 5 min. Relative percentage amounts were calculated from the peak area using a Shimadzu C-R4A chromatopac data processor without the use of correction factors. GC-MS analysis was performed using a HewlettPackard 5973 with an HP-5MS column (30 m 0.25 mm, film thickness 0.25 m). The column temperature was kept at 60 C for 3 min and programmed to 220 C at a rate of 5 C/min and kept constant at 220 C for 5 min. The flow rate of helium as carrier gas was 1 mL/min. MS were taken at 70 eV, mass range 30 to 350 amu, and scan time 2 scans/sec. The compounds were identified by comparison of the Kovats indexonan HP-5MS column with those reported in [7] and the NIST library, and by comparison of their mass spectra with either the Wiley library or with published mass spectra [7–9]. The Kovats indices for all the components were determined according to the Van Den Dool method using n-alkanes as standards [10].