Study of the essential oil composition of the of golden chamomile (Matricaria aurea (Loefl.) Sch. Bip.) Growing in Syria by GLC-MS

Introduction. Golden chamomile Matricaria aurea (Loefl.) Shultz-Bip. is actively used in ethnomedicine of the Middle East for neurological, cardiovascular, respiratory diseases, as well as diseases of the digestive system. M. aurea is a promising medicinal plant for the Syrian pharmaceutical industry. Due to the fact that there are no indicators of the quality of the raw materials of M. aurea growing in Syria, and the methodology for its standardization, and the available data on the chemical composition are insufficient, an in-depth study of the target fragment of the metabolome, including the study of the composition of the essential oil, is relevant.

Objective: investigation of the essential oil content in the raw materials of M. aurea growing in Syria and its composition by the method of GC-MS.

Material and methods. The object of the study is the dried aboveground part of the golden chamomile M. aurea (Loefl.) Sch. Bip., harvested during flowering in April 2021 in the Damascus region. Extraction of essential oil was carried out by hydrodistillation. The composition of the essential oil was analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (GC-MS) on a Varian 450GLC-220MS, mass spectrometer with an ion trap type mass analyzer, on a FactorFOUR VF-5ms quartz capillary column (30 m × 0.25 mm).

Results. There were found 150 chemical compounds in samples of the essential oils of golden chamomile Matricaria aurea (Loefl.) Sch. Bip. using the GLC-MS method, 68 substances out of which were identified. The main component of test samples is diepicedren-1-oxide and (or) aristolene epoxide. There were found terpenoids in the both samples: camphor, 2-(2,4-hexadiynylidene)-1,6-dioxaspiro(4.4)non-3-ene (tonghaosu), 1,8-cineol, caryophyllene, trans-chrysanthenyl acetate, α-farnesene, β-pinene, caryophyllene oxide, gossonorol, nerol, lavandulyl acetate, epi-α-bisabolol, 4-terpineol, as well as bornyl acetate, Δ- and γ-cadinene, spatulenol, α -santalol, τ-muurol, linalool, thymol; acid esters (isopropyl myristate, 3-methyl-2-butenoic acid tridec-2-ynyl ester), hydrocarbons, aldehydes, alcohols. There is a minor difference between the two samples in content of the following components: artemisia ketone, limonen-6-ol pivalate, α- and β-santalol, trans-z-α-bisabolene epoxide, isomentyl acetate, 1,4-dimethyl-7-(1-methyl )-2-azulenol and others.

Conclusion. Basing on literature data and essential oils components analysis it was found that the main substance is sesquiterpene oxide. Presumably essential oil could belong to different chemotypes, for example, diepicedren-1-oxide (aristolene epoxide), bisabolol A oxide or caryophyllene oxide.