This is the first report of individual variability and population diversity of the contents of nonacosan-10-ol and n-alkanes in the needle cuticular waxes of Bosnian pines originated from Montenegro, regarded as Pinus heldreichii var. leucodermis, and from Serbia, regarded as P. heldreichii var. pančići. The amount of nonacosan-10-ol varied individually from 27.4 to 73.2% (55.5% in average), but differences between the four investigated populations were not statistically confirmed. The size of the n-alkanes ranged from C(18) to C(33). The most abundant n-alkanes were C(23), C(27), and C(25) (12.2, 11.2, and 10.8% in average, resp.). The carbon preference index (CPI) of the n-alkanes ranged from 0.8 to 3.1 (1.6 in average), while the average chain length (ACL) ranged from 20.9 to 26.5 (24.4 in average). Long-chain and mid-chain n-alkanes prevailed (49.6 and 37.9% in average, resp.). It was also found that the populations of P. heldreichii var. leucodermis had predominantly a narrower range of n-alkanes (C(18)-C(31)) than the trees of the variety pančići (C(18)-C(33)). Differences between the varieties were also significant for most of the other characteristics of the n-alkane pattern (e.g., most abundant n-alkanes, CPI, ACL, and relative proportion of short-, mid-, and long-chain n-alkanes). The principle component and cluster analyses of eleven n-alkanes confirmed the significant diversity of these two varieties.

This is the first report on population variability of nonacosan-10-ol and n-alkanes in needle epicuticular waxes of Macedonian pine (Pinus peuce GRISEB.) Hexane extracts of needle samples, originating from two natural populations in Montenegro (Zeletin and Sjekirica) and from one population in Serbia (Mokra Gora) were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The amount of nonacosan-10-ol varied individually from 41.3 to 72.31% (average 55.9%), with the Sjekirica population being statistically divergent (64.4% on average). The results showed n-alkanes in epicuticular waxes ranging from C₁₈ to C₃₃. The most abundant alkanes were C₂₉, C₂₅, C₂₇, and C₂₃ (15.5, 11.1, 10.6, and 10.5% on average, resp.). The carbon preference index of Pinus peuce ranged from 1.0 to 4.3 (1.9 on average). Average chain length ranged from 18.4 to 27.7 (average 25.7). A high level of inidividual quantitative variation in all of these hydrocarbon parameters was also detected. These results were compared with published data on other species from the Pinus genus.

This is the first report on the composition and variability of the needle-wax n-alkanes in natural populations of Pinus nigra in Serbia. Samples of 195 trees from seven populations belonging to several infraspecific taxa (ssp. nigra, var. gocensis, ssp. pallasiana, and var. banatica) were analyzed. In general, the size of the n-alkanes ranged from C(16) to C(33) , with the exception of ssp. nigra, for which it ranged from C(18) to C(33) . The most abundant were C(23) -, C(25) -, C(27) -, and C(29) -alkanes. The needle waxes of Populations I-III and V were characterized by a higher content of C(23) -, C(25) -, and C(27) -alkanes and a lower content of C(24) -, C(26) -, C(28) -, and C(30) -alkanes, compared to the other populations, and the trees of these populations could be assigned to ssp. nigra. The samples of Population VI were characterized by higher amounts of C(22) -, C(24) -, C(30) -, and C(32) -alkanes and lower amounts of C(25) - and C(27) -alkanes, and the trees could be considered as ssp. pallasiana. The samples of Population VII, consisting of trees belonging to var. banatica, were richer in C(29) -, C(31) -, and C(33) -alkanes. The wax compositions of Populations IV and V, both composed of trees previously determined as P. nigra var. gocensis, showed a tendency of splitting. Indeed, the alkane composition of Population IV was closer to that of ssp. pallasiana pines, while that of Population V was more similar to that of ssp. nigra pines. From the results presented here, it is obvious that in the central part of the Balkan Peninsula, significant diversification and differentiation of the populations of black pine exists, and these populations could be defined as different intraspecific taxa. Our results also indicate the validity of n-alkanes as chemotaxonomic characters within this aggregate.

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Caraway fruits contain essential oils that give caraway its characteristic aroma. This paper evaluates quantity and composition of the essential oil from the annual caraway grown in different production areas of Serbia. Experiments were conducted in three production areas: Banat, Bačka and Srem, during two years. The fruits contained 3.95% of oil on average. The highest content of essential oil was obtained in the production area of Banat, a part of Serbia where environmental conditions are very favourable for cultivation of medicinal plants. Weather conditions have not a significant influence on the content of essential oil in caraway fruits. However, weather conditions as well as production region had a great influence on seed yield and essential oil yield. There were 22 compounds determined in caraway essential oil by GC/MS. The main components were carvone and limonene, whose mixture constituted from 97.69 to 98.62% of total oil composition. Carvone/limonene ratio was 0.58% on average, therefore, it can be concluded that this annual caraway belongs to limonene chemotype.