Ontogenetic variation of essential oil content and constituents in tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L.)

• Tansy produced maximum essential oil content (w/w%) at full flowering stage.
• The content of essential oil was quite similar at rosette, stem initiation and floral budding stages.
• The essential oil was rich in trans-thujone at rosette and beginning of fruit set stages.
• The highest concentration of camphor was detected at floral budding stage.
• trans-Chrysanthenyl acetate was maximum at both stages, stem initiation and full flowering.

The essential oil (EO) content and composition of tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L.) were studied at different ontogenetic stages. Gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) were employed to determine the chemical composition of EOs from the plant. The quantity and quality of the EO samples were studied at five different ontogenetic stages including rosette, stem initiation, floral budding, full flowering, and beginning of the fruit set. The oil contents of samples, harvested at the mentioned stages, were 0.52 ± 0.05%, 0.55 ± 0.02%, 0.53 ± 0.02%, 0.91 ± 0.01% and 0.73 ± 0.05%, respectively. The highest amount of trans-thujone (44%) was detected in the two stages of rosette and beginning of fruit set, and the maximum amounts of other two major components, camphor (31.04%) and trans-chrysanthenyl acetate (31.1%), were identified at the floral budding and full flowering stages, respectively. In conclusion, ontogenetic stages significantly affect the EO content of tansy, and change the major EO components (trans-thujone, camphor, and trans-chrysanthenyl acetate) depending on the predominant component at the particular plant growth stage. This aids to produce plant material with the promising required oil composition to meet the needs of pharmaceutical industries.

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