Inter-Population Variability of Terpenoid Composition in Leaves of Pistacia lentiscus L. from Algeria: A Chemoecological Approach

Abstract

Three different altitudes were selected to study the variability of terpenoid composition from leaves of female plants of Pistacia lentiscus L. throughout the elevation gradient. GC-MS analyses showed that terpenoid contents change with altitude. Forty nine compounds were identified with a high interpopulation variability for low- and midaltitude sites that also exhibited the same major components when data were expressed on dry weight basis. However, Two-Way-ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test showed that monoterpene hydrocarbons increased with elevation, giving values of 21.7, 37.5 and 221.5 µg g−1 dw for low- mid- and highlands, respectively. On the other hand, applying P.C.A. with data expressed in percentage of the chromatogram of the volatile extract led to the identification of three chemotypes associated with altitudinal levels. In highlands (Group I), the major compounds were β-caryophyllene (12%), δ-cadinene (9.3%) and α-pinene (6.3%) while in midlands (Group II), β-caryophyllene (11.5%), δ-cadinene (8.6%) and caryophyllene oxide (6.8%) were the main components. In lowlands (Group III) δ-cadinene (10.9%), cubebol (10.5%) and β-bisabolene (7.7%) were chiefly present. Hence, the involvement of genetic factors, temperature and drought in the chemical polymorphism of P. lentiscus associated with elevation is discussed in this report.

Population authentication of the traditional medicinal plant Cassia tora L. based on ISSR markers and FTIR analysis

“…The expression of CHS gene is the important step in the biosynthesis of flavonoids 14 , 15 and CHS transcription is regulated by endogenous programs in response to environmental signals 16 . Plant samples from different geographical origins have different biochemical compositions due to variations in the environmental conditions and genetic reasons 17 – 19 . Therefore, it is crucial to identify the medicinal herb at the locality level.…”

Essential‐Oil Variability in Natural Populations of Pinus mugoTurra from the Julian Alps

“…Thec omposition and content of an essential oil is not only controlled genetically,b ut it is also strongly affected by differente nvironmental factors.B oth environmental and genotypic factors,a nd their interactions,a ffect the composition and contento fe ssential oils.H owever,s ome authors emphasize that in the hierarchy of factors driving terpene metabolism, ag enetically determined basal allocationm itigates the upstream environmental control on plant secondary metabolism [33].A mong abiotic factors reported to altert erpene production in plants are climate type [34] [35],l atitude and altitude [36][37][38], solare xposition and radiation [39],s oil types [33] [40], ultraviolet radiation [41],water stress [42], temperature [43] [44], and ozone exposure [45]. In addition,itisimportant to keep in mind that all these factors mix together.…”

Geographical and Environmental Variation in Chemical Constituents and Antioxidant Properties inRoscoea proceraWall

“…Since plant secondary metabolites are influenced by microenvironmental conditions (Said et al 2011) and with other varying climatic conditions, commercial collection and/or cultivation needs to be carried out carefully for obtaining maximum yield of phytochemicals from medicinal plants.…”

“…The increase of phytochemicals like camphene, p-cyamene, and so forth. with altitude regardless to the specific composition of the habitats is possibly due to genetic and environmental factors (Said et al 2011).…”