Comparison of essential oil content and constituents in Pycnocycla bashgardiana Mozaffarian during different phenological stages

Backround: The Pycnocycla bashgardiana Mozaffarian is one of the endemic medicinal species in Hormozgan province. Because of the valuable compound myristicin in the organs of this plant, it is used intravenously in the treatment of some diseases. Objective: Evaluation of essential oil content and constituents of aerial parts during different phenological stages including before flowering, flower initiation, full flowering and seed maturity stsgegs. Methods: the essential oil was isolated using Clevenger-type apparatus, and their constituents were identified using GC and GC/MS devices. Results: The highest essential oil content (2.22%) was related to flower initiation stage. The essential oil content at pre-flowering, full flowering and seed maturity stages were 0.64%, 1.54% and 0.74%, respectively. In general, 39 compounds were identified in the isolated essential oil, some of which were found only in one stage of growth and some others were observed in all of the four examined stages. Comparison of essential oil constituents showed that in all stages, p-cymene, E-beta-ocimene, myristecine, sabinene, (Z) -beta-ocimene and isomyristicin were the major compounds. The myristecine level in all stages was one of the three high compounds that reached to 52.71, 12.8%, 8.6% and 17% at before flowering, flower initiation, full flowering and seed maturity stages, respectively. Conclusion: According to the results, the maximum amount of myristecine was obtained at the vegetative stage before the plant reaches flowering. Also, the maximum content of Z-beta-ocimine and E-beta-ocimine compounds were found during flowering, however, maximum iso-myristicin, subabinen, and parasimine were observed at seed maturity stage.