GC/MS Fingerprinting of Solvent Extracts and Essential Oils Obtained from Liverwort Species

Abstract

Studies concerning chemical profiling of the volatiles present in the solvent extracts from liverworts help to determine inter- and intraspecific relationships in this plant group. Due to the fact that the liverworts are morphologically very small and it is difficult to collect their sufficient amounts, there are still a few data concerning the chemistry of essential oils. The available data indicate however, that the components present in the essential oils can be used in chemosystematic studies of these spore-forming plants. Compounds occurring in the essential oils constitute a powerful tool for studying chemical differences between or within liverwort species for which the characteristic components are mono- and sesquiterpenoids. Good results were obtained for the liverworts species from the genera Asterella, Conocephalum, Diplophyllum, Jungermannia, Lepidozia, Radula, Reboulia or Scapania.