An investigation on the determination of diurnal and ontogenetic variabilities of essential oil content and composition in Hypericum triquetrifolium Turra (Hypericaceae)

Hypericum genus includes especially species used as depression and wound healing in alternative and modern medicine. In this study, Hypericum triquetrifolium which grows naturally in western of Turkey (Kazdağ Mount / Edremit Balıkesir) were investigated essential oil content, essential oil composition, diurnal and ontogenetic variabilities. The diurnal and ontogenetic variabilities of the species were first studied. Essential oils in part of the aerial plant raised during flower ontogenesis and achieved the highest level at full flowering and decreased at the fresh fruiting phase. The highest level at full flowering is 0.30% while the lowest level of fresh fruiting is 0.09%. As a result of the study, 27 components were detected from the aboveground parts of H. triquetrifolium at the before flowering, beginning of flowering and full flowering stages. The major components were obtained caryophyllene (32.9%) and caryophyllene oxide (10.8%) at the before the flowering stage, 3-methyl nonane (17.1%) and caryophyllene (14.9%) at the flowering stage and 3-methyl nonane (43.5%) and α-pinene (17.6%) at the fresh fruiting stage.