Geographic and Environmental Influences on the Variation of Essential Oil and Coumarins in Crithmum maritimum L.

Abstract

SURMMARY Different plant materials (fruits and herbs of Crithmum maritimum L.) collected in five geographic regions (in Greece, France and cultivated in Poland) were examined for content and composition of essential oil and coumarins. Total content of essential oil in the powdered plant material was determined by steam water distillation and the quantity of main essential oil components was analyzed by gas chromatography. Influence of fertilization with Tytanit fertilizer containing titanium ions on the content of essential oil and concentration of four main compounds (α-pinene, p-cymene, limonene, β-pinene) was examined for variation of the content of essential oil in different parts of plant material collected from five natural sites. Coumarins were analyzed after exhaustive extraction with petroleum ether and methanol. The obtained extracts were purified from polar components by liquid-liquid extraction and separated by column chromatography on silica gel 60 (230–400 mesh) stationary phases and then by preparative TLC on silica gel 60 plates, 0.5 mm thickness. Several coumarin fractions have been obtained in this way. As homogeneous fractions, scopoletin and scoparone have been isolated. They have been confirmed by comparison of their chromatographic retention data with standards in TLC and RP-HPLC analysis; similar composition of coumarins, mainly in etheral and methanolic extracts from plant material collected in different natural sites (Crete, Malta, Cyprus, Tenerife, France) and cultivated in Poland, was established.