Altitudinal variation in the volatile constituents of Cymbopogon flexuosus from Uttarakhand region of Himalaya

Abstract

The essential oils of Cymbopogon flexuosus (lemon grass) of the family Poaceae collected from different altitudes of the Uttarakhand region of Himalaya were subjected to detailed GC/MS analysis in order to determine the variation of concentration in their constituents. The GC/MS analysis led to the identification of 29 constituents forming 90.62 to 93.58% of their total oil content. The major constituents were citral, geraniol, citronellol,citranellal, linalool, borneol, ?-myrcene limonene, ?-caryophyllene, camphene, ?-cadinene, ? terpineol, neryl acetate and heptenone. Plants collected from 450 m altitude afforded citral (74.58 %) [a isomeric mixture of geranial and nearl] as a major constituents whereas only a less percentage of citral (64.21%, 68.29%) was found in the plants collected from two other altitudes i.e 250m and 1000m respectively. The geraniol, cam-
phene and neryl acetate were obtained in a high concentration form the plants collected at 250 m altitude but in the plant from two other altitudes, it was found only in less proportion. Similarly, ?-cadinene, ?-terpineol and camphene were the major constituents of plants at 1000m altitude but in other plants it was detected in very low concentration. Since, the concentration of plant constituents affected by altitude and season, medicinal
properties of such plants and their use in biological application would vary accordingly.