The Essential Oil Components of Helichrysum pallasii Flowers

Abstract

The genus Helichrysum contains many species displaying therapeutical effects and use in folk medicine. Helichrysum pallasii (Spreng.) Ledeb. is one of these species, used in the region for traditional medicine and ornamental purposes. Plants have been used in the treatment in folk medicines since the earliest times of human history. Chemical composition, antimicrobial and other medicinal properties of plants are being investigated in laboratories throughout the world using the extracts and essential oils derived from medicinal plants. Essential oils are usually complex mixtures of natural compounds of both polar and apolar structure. Essential oils consist mainly of terpenoids and their oxygenated derivatives. Essential oils, which have antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, have therapeutic properties and are the raw materials of cosmetics, as well as acting as natural additives in foods and food products. In this study, the volatile components of the H. pallasii plants were investigated which collected from its natural habitat in the Armutlu district of Bayburt province (Turkey) at the time of flowering. The proportion of essential oils of the plant harvested during the full flowering period and the aromatic components in the essential oil of the plant were determined using the SPME (Solid Phase Microextraction) method in a Gas Chromatography (GC-MS) device. Almost 37 different components were found as a result of the analysis. The main components were found as α-Springene (34.89%), (-)-Isoledene (7.11%), δ-Selinene (5.79%) and Aristolene (5.09).