Population Variability of Essential Oils of Pinus heldreichii from the Scardo-Pindic Mountains Osljak and Galicica

Abstract

The needle-terpene profiles of two natural Pinus heldreichii populations from Mts. Oljak and Galiica (Scardo-Pindic mountain system) were analyzed. Among the 68 detected compounds, 66 were identified. The dominant constituents were germacrene D (28.7\%), limonene (27.1\%), and -pinene (16.2\%). -Caryophyllene (6.9\%), -pinene (5.2\%), -myrcene (2.3\%), pimaric acid (2.0\%), -humulene (1.2\%), and seven additional components were found to be present in medium-to-high amounts (0.5-10\%). Although the general needle-terpene profile of the population from Galiica was similar to those of the populations from Loven, Zeletin, Bjelasica, and Zlatibor-Peter (belonging to the Dinaric Alps), the principle-component analysis (PCA) of seven terpenes (-myrcene, limonene, -elemene, -caryophyllene, -humulene, -cadinene, and germacrene D-4-ol) in 121 tree samples suggested a partial divergence in the needle-terpene profiles between the populations from the Scardo-Pindic mountain system and the Dinaric Alps. According to previously reported data, the P. heldreichii samples from the Balkan-Rhodope mountains lack -caryophyllene and germacrene D, but contain -muurolene in their terpene profile. Differences in the terpene composition between populations growing in the three above-mentioned mountain systems were compared and discussed.