Peculiarities of essential oil accumulation by millet grass of common flora of Voronezh region

Relevance. An important and little-studied aspect of the effects of human economic activity on medicinal plants is that in response to increased anthropogenic load, additional synthesis of secondary metabolites, is induced, which play an important role in the adaptation of plants to changing conditions. The purpose of the study was to study the features of the accumulation of essential oil in the grass of a thousand-leaf common, prepared in the agro- and urbocenoses of the Voronezh region. Material and methods. In the Voronezh region, 13 raw material harvesting points were selected to study the content of essential oil in it. Correlation coefficients were analyzed to examine in detail the effect of basic pollutants (heavy metals and arsenic) on the accumulation of essential oil. Results. All analyzed vegetable raw materials are considered benign in terms of essential oil content. The maximum amount of essential oil (0.76%) is noted in a sample of grass of an ordinary thousand leaf growing on the territory of the Khopersky Reserve. The minimum amount of essential oil is noted in the sample collected along the M4 route in the Pavlovsky district (0.18%). In general, for samples of control territories and agrobiocenoses, a higher content of essential oil can be noted than in samples of urbobiocenoses. The content of essential oil in the grass of bitter wormwood collected in territories deprived of human economic activity amounted to 0.68-0.76%, near agricultural land - 0.36-0.48%. In a number of urbanized territories, samples of grass of an ordinary thousand tree with a much lower content of essential oil - 0.18-0.39% - were harvested on the street of the cities of Voronezh, Ostrogozhsk, Borisoglebsk, along the M4 highway in Ramonsky and Pavlovsky districts, along the railway. Conclusion. The calculated values of correlation coefficients showed a strong negative effect of lead, cadmium, nickel, cobalt, zinc on the accumulation of essential oil in the grass of the bitter wormwood. The lowest content of essential oil was found in samples harvested on the streets of large cities of the region, along road routes and the railway. This makes it possible to conclude that the anthropogenic load has a negative effect on the accumulation of this group of compounds in the grass of the common thousand leaf.