Phytochemical Diversity of Fennel landraces from Various Growth Types and Origins

K. Bahmani¹, A. Izadi Darbandi¹*, D. Faleh Alfekaiki² and M. Sticklen³

¹Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding Sciences, Aburaihan College, University of Tehran, IR 14174 Tehran, Iran
²Department of Food Sciences, Agriculture College, Basrah University, IQ 61004 Basrah, Iraq
³Department of Plant, Soil and Microbiology Sciences, Michigan State University, US 48823 East Lansing, USA
*Correspondence: aizady@ut.ac.ir

Abstract:

The presence of certain secondary metabolites in fennel essential oil is the cause of its pharmacological and flavoring properties. In this study phytochemical diversity including essential oil content and compositions of 26 fennel landraces from various growth types and geographical originations were assessed. Essential oil content of the fennel landraces varied from 1.1 to 4.8%; with late and medium maturities showing higher essential oil contents than early maturities. According to the Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GCMS) results, the main essential oil components were trans-anethole (1.2–88.4%), methyl chavicol (0.2–59.1%), fenchone (1.1–14.7%) and limonene (5.3–15.7%). According to the clustering results, it was noticed that all the fennel landraces originated from arid climates were trans-anethole chemotype with an average concentration of 76%. The early and late maturity fennels from humid climates were methyl chavicol chemotype with an average concentration of 54%. The late maturities from humid and moderate climates were fenchone chemotypes with 12% concentration, and finally the early and late maturities from semi-arid climates were limonene chemotype with 12% concentration. Our results confirm that climate is a major evolutionary determining factor on the phytochemical diversity of fennel landraces.

Key words:

Chemotype, Essential oil, Fennel, GC/MS

Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry study of lipids in northern berries

L. Klavins, J. Kviesis, I. Steinberga, L. Klavina and M. Klavins*

University of Latvia, Raina blvd. 19, Riga, LV-1586, Latvia
*Correspondence: maris.klavins@lu.lv

Abstract:

Wild berries from forests and bogs of Northern Europe are an excellent source of natural antioxidants, vitamins and fatty acids, all of which are substances with high biological activity. This study investigates lipids extracted from fresh and powdered berries, using low-polarity solvents (chloroform, diethyl ether and others) and a mixture of chloroform and methanol. Berry lipids were analysed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The following berries were analysed: blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.), bilberry (Vaccinium uliginosum L.), two cultivars of highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.), lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.), cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus L.), black crowberry (Empetrum nigrum L.), cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccos L.) and rowanberry (Sorbus aucuparia L.). One hundred and elevencompounds were identified and quantified in the 9 species of analysed berries. The lipid fraction contained compound classes like fatty acids, sterols, triterpenoids, alkanes, phenolic and carboxylic acids and carotenoids. All fresh berries contained high amounts of C18 unsaturated fatty acids (for example, up to 102 μg g^-1 of blueberries) and phytosterols (86 μg of β-sitosterol g^-1 of blueberries), and high amounts of benzoic acid were found in lingonberries (164 μg g^-1). The analysed berry lipid profiles were compared using the principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis. The two analyses showed that the lipid profiles of the studied berries reflect their taxonomy.

Key words: