Chemical characterization of the essential oil from patchouli accessions harvested over four seasons

The genus Pogostemon of the Lamiaceae family includes several species known for their medicinal and aromatic properties. The species P. cablin is especially notable because the essential oil extracted from its leaves is internationally important and valuable, principally for the perfume and cosmetic industries. Because multiple factors can affect the chemical composition of the essential oil, the aim of this work was to evaluate the chemical variations in the essential oils of nine Pogostemon accessions harvested over four seasons. Two Pogostemon accessions (P. heyneanus, but received as P. cablin) and seven P. cablin accessions from different sources were evaluated. The transplants were planted in January 2008, and the harvests were conducted in May, August, and November 2008 and February 2009. The chemical composition of the essential oils was evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively. Patchoulol was the major compound from the four harvests of all of the P. cablin accessions. The principal compound from the accessions POG-001 and POG-006 was β-pinene. Two clusters were detected by multivariate analyses of the four harvests. Cluster I was formed by the accessions POG-001 and POG-006 (P. heyneanus), and Cluster II was formed by the accessions of P. cablin (POG-002, POG-014, POG-015, POG-016, POG-019, POG-021, and POG-022).

► Patchoulol was the major compound for the P. cablin accessions.
► The principal compound from P. heyneanus was pinene.
► Two clusters were detected by multivariate analyses of the four harvests.
► Cluster I was formed by P. heyneanus and Cluster II by P. cablin.
► The 1st principal component represents between 74.28% and 84.80% of total variance.