Department of Agriculture, Medicinal Plants and Drug Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, G.C., Evin, Tehran, Iran.
Chem Biodivers. 2011 May;8(5):902-15. doi: 10.1002/cbdv.201000249.
Satureja khuzistanica is an endemic herb growing wild in Iran with interesting pharmacological and biological properties. Here, as an initial step of the domestication process, the variability of phytochemical and morphological traits among 69 individuals of eight natural populations of the plant was studied. The investigated characteristics were the essential oil content and composition, the rosmarinic acid (RA) content, and the leaf and flower morphologies. The Abdanan and Kaver populations showed the highest oil contents. The characterization by GC-FID and GC/MS analyses of the oils revealed that all 69 sampled individuals had carvacrol as the main component with very high contents (89.59-95.41%). The content of RA of the MeOH extracts of S. khuzistanica showed a high level of variability (coefficient of variation (CV) 50.0%) ranging from 0.59% (w/w) in the Paalam population to 1.81% (w/w) in the Abdanan population. The peduncle length and the leaf surface area (CVs of 47.39 and 47.21%, resp.) were the most variable morphological characteristics among the examined populations. The high level of phytochemical and morphological variability among the studied populations suggests a breeding approach during the domestication, to gain new, promising, and homogenous cultivars, attractive for the industry and agriculture.
香薄荷是一种伊朗特有的野生草本植物，具有有趣的药理学和生物学特性。在这里，作为驯化过程的初步步骤，研究了该植物的 69 个个体的 8 个自然种群的植物化学和形态特征的变异性。研究的特征是精油含量和组成、迷迭香酸（RA）含量以及叶和花的形态。阿卜达南和卡维尔种群的油含量最高。通过 GC-FID 和 GC/MS 分析对油进行的表征表明，所有 69 个采样个体的主要成分均为香芹酚，含量非常高（89.59%-95.41%）。从 Paalam 种群的 0.59%（w/w）到阿卜达南种群的 1.81%（w/w），S. khuzistanica 的甲醇提取物中 RA 的含量表现出很高的变异性（变异系数（CV）为 50.0%）。花梗长度和叶片表面积（CV 分别为 47.39%和 47.21%）是研究种群中最具变异性的形态特征。研究种群中植物化学和形态特征的高度变异性表明，在驯化过程中需要采用一种培育方法，以获得新的、有前途的、均匀的品种，吸引工业和农业。
