Exploring Phytochemical Diversity and Physiological Attributes of Juniper Species in Iran

Investigating the phytochemical and physiological changes in juniper species is essential for identifying bioactive compounds and enhancing their medicinal uses. A ۲۰۲۲-۲۰۲۳ study evaluated the essential oil content and composition of three juniper species: Juniperus sabina L., J. polycarpos K.Koch, and J. communis L. This research was conducted in the Salouk area of North Khorasan, Iran (۳۷° ۱۹.۰۲۴۲' N, ۵۷° ۳۲.۷۲۳۲' E). Herbarium numbers were assigned by the Agricultural Research Center of North Khorasan: J. communis (Khsh.CU/J. communis ۱۰۱), J. polycarpos (Khsh.CU/J. polycarpos ۱۰۲), and J. sabina L. (Khsh.CU/J. sabina ۱۰۳). Essential oil content per ۱۰۰ g of dried plant material was ۰.۵ g for J. polycarpos, ۱.۷ g for J. sabina, and ۰.۵۴ g for J. communis in branches; in fruits, the values were ۲.۳۶ g, ۳.۳۴ g, and ۲.۰۲ g, respectively. J. sabina had a significantly higher essential oil content compared to other species, with ۲۹ compounds in its branches and ۲۴ in its fruits identified through Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry. In contrast, J. polycarpos contained ۱۹ compounds in branches and ۳۶ in fruits. The fruit extracts showed a significantly higher average percentage of essential oil than branch extracts across all species, with the fruit of J. communis containing the highest rate at ۹۸.۹۳%. In the species J. communis, the major compounds in the branch were Trans-pinene (۱۵%), α-phellandrene (۱۴.۹۷%), α-pinene (۱۱.۲۸%) and terpinolene (۶.۶۶%) and the major compounds in the fruit were α-phellandrene (۲۲.۱۹%), Hexanoic acid (۱۳.۵۰%), β-pinene (۸.۹۳%) and sabinene (۷.۳۷%). In the species J. polycarpos, the major compounds in the branch were benzaldehyde (۲۰.۰۳%), δ-۳-carene (۵.۴۸%) and Terpinolene (۳.۷۱%) and the major compounds in the fruit were Thuja-۲,۴(۱۰)-diene (۴۳.۳۵%), n-heptanol (۶.۱۳%) and ۱-octen-۳-ol (۵.۴۰%). In the species J. sabina, the major compounds in the branch were sabinene (۱۲.۷۸%), camphene (۱۲.۱۲%), terpinolene (۸.۴%) and α-terpinene (۶.۷۸%) and the major compounds in the fruit were ۱-octen-۳-ol (۳۵.۲۷%), α-pinene (۷.۶۵%), camphene (۵.۷۸%) and Cis-sabinene hydrate (۵.۱۵%). This study highlights the potential of ripe fruits in Juniper species as a valuable source of essential oils and emphasizes the critical role of specific genes, particularly the pin gene, in enhancing their biosynthesis.

کلیدواژه ها:

α-pinene ، Bioactive compounds ، essential oil ، Phytochemical analysis