Essential-Oil Variability of Juniperus deltoides RPADAMS along the East Adriatic Coast - How Many Chemotypes Are There?

Abstract

The composition of the essential oils isolated from twigs of ten Juniperus deltoides R. P. Adams populations from the east Adriatic coast was determined by GC-FID and GC/MS analyses. Altogether, 169 compounds were identified, representing 95.6-98.4% of the total oil composition. The oils were dominated by monoterpenes (average content of 61.6%), which are characteristic oil components of species of the Juniperus section. Two monoterpenes, a-pinene and limonene, were the dominant constituents, comprising on average 46.78% of the essential oils. Statistical methods were deployed to determine the diversity of the terpene classes and the common terpenes between the investigated populations. These statistical analyses revealed the existence of three chemotypes within all populations, i.e., a alpha-pinene, limonene, and limonene/alpha-pinene type.