Introduction of Cymbopogon distans (Nees ex Steud.) Wats to the sub-tropical India: evaluation of essential-oil yield and chemical composition during annual growth.

摘要

Cymbopogon distans (Nees ex Steud.) Wats is a perennial aromatic grass growing wild in the temperate Himalayan region. In order to find new ecological areas for its commercial cultivation, an attempt has been made to introduce this plant to the sub-tropical region. In the present study, successfully domesticated lemon-scented strain of C. distans was evaluated for their essential-oil yield and chemical composition throughout the year. The essential-oil yields observed in the initial two years were 3.85+or-0.22 mL/plant/year. The essential-oil content varied from 0.34+or-0.05 to 0.44+or-0.04% in different seasons. A total of thirty-eight constituents, representing 85.5-94.7% of the total oil compositions were identified using gas chromatography (GC) and GC-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) methods. Geraniol (10.7-20.8%), neral (15.0-18.0%), geranyl acetate (16.0-22.7%), geranial (19.7-24.7%), and limonene (1.9-6.1%) were identified as the major constituents of the essential-oil. Besides seasonal changes, variations in the essential-oil composition were also noticed between the first and second harvests of the plant.