Volatile Composition Variability of Arnica montana Wild Populations of Trentino‐Alto Adige, Italy, Determined by Headspace‐Solid Phase Microextraction

Abstract

Arnica montana is a plant distributed in most of Europe, including the Alpine arc and Apennines in Italy, and traditionally used worldwide for medicinal properties. Twelve natural populations of the species from Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy, were characterized using Headspace-Solid Phase Microextraction analysis for their volatile profile. Fifty-one compounds were detected in flower heads, the most abundant being (E)-Caryophyllene (23.4 %), 2,2,4,6,6-Pentamethylheptane (8.3 %), αtrans-Bergamotene (7.2 %), Germacrene D (5.7 %), and Hexanal (5.3 %). A multivariate analysis performed on the ten most abundant compounds grouped these investigated accessions into five main clusters. Three clusters, comprising together five accessions, were linked to the geographical origin of two collection sites. This work is a complete characterization of volatiles of the species by SPME analysis reported to date. Furthermore, results suggest that the species' volatile profile can be linked to the geographical origin of the natural populations and, therefore, represent a tool for evaluating biodiversity within the species.

Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture: The Role and Contribution of CREA (Italy) within the National Program RGV-FAO

“…The Research Centre for Forestry and Wood (CREA-FL) of Trento participated in the RGV-FAO Program since its beginning in 2004, with a research line focused on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs), by the conservation and characterization of a collection of about 100 species previously collected within different research projects. In the following years the activity was mainly focused on mountain and alpine plants, such as Arnica montana L., Gentiana lutea L., Rhodiola rosea L., by the domestication of natural populations of the species, with the aim to promote their cultivation and replacing the harvest in the wild with cultivation [235][236][237][238][239][240][241][242]. Some edible species, such as Cicerbita alpina (L.) Wallr.…”

Latest Improvements and Expanding Applications of Solid-Phase Microextraction

“…A large number of plants own distinctive odors. Analyzing these odors is expected to reveal unique biomarkers for species identification and provide important data for economic valuation. − HS-SPME is an excellent candidate for odor enrichment, and the mixed fibers including DVB/CAR/PDMS, CAR/PDMS, and PDMS/DVB are preferred due to the synergetic effects of absorbents and adsorbents. − It is worth mentioning that the hybrid composites of silica aerogel, preyssler-type polyoxometalate, and MIL-101­(Cr) have been fabricated as a highly porous fiber coating, which has been successfully used for the headspace extraction and identification of Ferulago angulata volatile components. Exerting a magnetic field on the prepared SPME fiber using a permanent magnet substantially improves the extraction efficiency for the volatile components, to an average of 73% …”