PHYTOCHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF ESSENTIAL OIL OF PELARGONIUM GRAVEOLENS L’HÉR. IN CULTURAL CONDITIONS ON THE SOUTHERN COAST OF THE CRIMEA

The article presents the results of a study of the mass fraction and component composition of essential oil obtained from the above-ground mass of rose-scent geranium (Pelargonium graveolens L’Hér.), grown in open ground conditions on the Southern Coast of the Crimea (SCC). P. graveolens is a species of the genus Pelargonium, a combined Geraniaceae, naturally produced in the Cape Floristic Region and widely cultivated throughout the world as a valuable ornamental, essential oil and medicinal plant. The essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation using Ginsberg apparatus. The component composition of essential oils was determined using a hardware and software complex based on a chromatograph “Chromatek-Crystal 5000.2” equipped with a mass spectrometric detector. Identification was performed based on a comparison of the obtained mass spectra with data from the NIST 14 library (National Institute of Standards and Technology, USA). “MS Search” spectrum search and identification program (USA). Retention indices were obtained by logarithmic interpolation of the presented retention times using the analytical standard of a mixture of reference n-alkanes “Sigma-Aldrich” (Switzerland) and analytical standards “Supelco” (USA). The mass fraction of components in the sample was determined by the percentage normalization method. The mass fraction of EOs in freshly collected raw materials is 0.22 % and 1.33 % in terms of absolutely dry weight. The essential oil is represented by 41 components, 87.8 % of which have been identified. Based on the results of chromatographic analysis, it was established that the quantitatively predominant components of the EO of the studied sample of P. graveolens under the conditions of the SCC are: terpene alcohols: citronellol – 39.67 %, geraniol – 13.61 % and terpene ether – citronellyl formate 10.58 %. The EO sample was characterized by a small amount of undesirable components, such as isomenthone (5 %) and a complete absence of 10-epi-udesmol and menthone. By this composition, the EO obtained under the conditions of the SCC is close to samples, produced from raw materials grown in China, Armenia and Tajikistan. The results obtained allow us to consider P. graeolens for the conditions of the SCC as a promising source of natural essential oils of domestic production for the needs of pharmaceutical, perfumery, cosmetics and food industries.