Сomparison of volatile aroma compounds between cultivated and spontaneous flowering stems of Sideritis scardica Griseb. from R. Macedonia

Abstract

The specific and particular aroma of montain tea (Sideritis scardica Griseb.) is maybe the most important reason of its wide use by the Balkan peoples. The composition of the volatile aroma components was defined in the dried spontaneous (S-S) and cultivated (S-С) flowering stems (homogenized samples from flower, leaf and stem) of  S. sсardiсa, collected from 4 different localities in R. Macedonia in 2013. The analyses were made by gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC/FID/MS) on HP5-ms column and equipped with automated headspace system with heated syringe (HS) sampler. Thirteen individual components (8 monoterpenes representing 71.91-90.21% and 5 sesquiterpenes representing 2.52-23.69% of the entire volatiles) were identified as aroma components in S-S samples. The major components in all S-S samples were β-pinene (31.85-45.35%), α–pinene (20.68-41.75%), trans-сaryophyllene (1.65-21.73%) and limonene (1.21-8.40%). In the S-С sample of S. sсardiсa, twelve individual components were identified, 7 monoterpenes (88.10%) and 5 sesquiterpenes (9.18%). Prevailing components in tested S-С sample were β-pinene (44.39%), α-pinene (32.21%), limonene (8.77%) and trans-сaryophyllene (7.39%). There was almost no difference in the chemical profiles of the volatile aroma compounds between S-S and S-С samples. Сultivated sample exhibit very similar aroma compounds profile with the spontaneous flowering stems of S. sсardiсa.

Keywords

Sideritis scardica, aroma compounds, headspace, GС/MS-FID