Composition of the essential oils of Rosmarinus officinalis of ten populations from the Balkan Peninsula were determined by GC/FID and GC/MS. The main constituents were 1,8-cineole, camphor, α-pinene, and borneol. Multivariate statistical analysis (UPGMA cluster analysis and principal-component analysis (PCA)) revealed two major types of rosemary oil, i.e., 1,8-cineole and camphor-type, and two intermediate types, i.e., camphor/1,8-cineole/borneol type and 1,8-cineole/camphor type. The regression analyses (simple linear regression and stepwise multiple regression) have shown that, with respect to basic geographic, orographic, and 19 bioclimatic characteristics of each population, bioclimatic factor temperature of habitat represented the dominant abiogenetic factor, which, in chemical sense, led to differentiation of populations in the studied region. Also, the regression analysis have shown that some constituents of essential oils are independent of any single bioclimatic factors. However, some constituents display statistically significant correlations with some abiotic factors.
Seasonal variations in the composition of the essential oils obtained from rosemary plants of the same genotype cultivated in Belgrade were determined by GC and GC/MS. The main constituents were camphor (18.2-28.1%), 1,8-cineole (6.4-18.0%), α-pinene (9.7-13.5%), borneol (4.4-9.5%), camphene (5.1-8.7%), β-pinene (2.1-8.1%), β-phellandrene (4.6-6.5%), myrcene (3.4-5.9%) and bornyl acetate (0.2-7.9%). Cluster analysis showed that 16 samples that had been collected each month during the vegetative cycle can be separated into three main clades with different compositions of essential oils. In the shoots with fruits ('fruits'-Clade I) and shoots with developed leaves ('old shoots'-Clade III) camphor is dominant. In shoots with young and incompletely developed leaves ('young shoot'-Clade II) camphor and 1,8-cineole had almost the same concentration. The fact that the same genotype during the growing seasons can synthesize oils that are so different that they can be classified as different chemotypes confirms the opinion that the chemical composition of essential oils sometimes critically depends on the time of collection. Also, for the definition of chemotypes it is not enough to base this on a chemical analysis of an oil from one phenophase only.
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