Abstract
The chemical composition of essential oils obtained from fresh and dried roots of Valeriana officinalis L. (Valerianaceae) was analyzed by GC/FID and GC/MS using two columns of different polarities, polyethylene glycol (DB-Wax) and 5% phenyl 95% polydimethylsiloxane (HP-5). Sixty-one components were characterized comprising 78.7% and 76.2% of the oil composition, respectively. The major oxygenated sesquiterpenes identified possessed structures based on valerenic acid skeleton, valerenal being the most representative. The oil composition significantly varied due to drying procedure. Dried roots contained high amount of free isovaleric acid (13.0%) in comparison to fresh roots (0.2%) which may be due to enzymatic hydrolysis of isovaleric esters upon drying. Higher contents of borneol and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons were also found in dried root oil. Dried roots were also steam distilled and three oil fractions were collected in equal time periods during the steam distillation. It was possible to modify the content of target components such as oxygenated sesquiterpenes. Their content was 8-fold higher in the last fraction.
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