ASSESSMENT OF ESSENTIAL OILS CHEMICAL PROFILE of Baccharis spartioides IN THREE ANNUAL CONSECUTIVES HARVESTS

CORTEZ, FACUNDO; ORDEN, AGUSTINA; COSTANTINO, ANDREA ROSANA; LAZZARINI, NATALIA; BELLOZAS REINHARD, MONICA; MINIG, MARISOL; MANSO, VICTORIA; MAZZAFERRO, LAURA; MOLDES, CARLOS ALBERTO

Jornada; XXIII ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ARGENTINEAN BIOLOGY SOCIETY (SAB); 2021

The complexity of the chemical composition of essential oils may be due to biological characteristics of the plant species and/or the edaphoclimatic conditions where they grow. The standardized quality of an essential oil is difficult to achieve, since the largest number of variables have to be managed before, during and after harvest. The objective of the work was to compare the chemical composition of essential oils of Baccharis spartioides in three harvests carried out in consecutive years (2017–2018–2019). The harvests were made in December each year, in a low saline area located at the GPS coordinates: 37°10’42.73” (S) and 64°17’09.32” (W). Yield percentage of oil essentials, physicochemical properties, and chemical profile by CG–MS were measured. The results obtained in physicochemical characterizations and in the chemical profile of the years 2017–2018 were similar. However, the 2019 harvest differed from the other years both in yield, physicochemical properties, and the chemical profile of the oil. The visual appearance (color), the essential oil component profile, and other measured parameters seem to indicate a greater susceptibility to oxidation in the material harvested in 2019. The abundance of non-oxygenated terpenes practically disappeared, which implies a reduction in the oil quality. Although it is not possible to determine the reasons why the material from this harvest was affected, it can be suggested that specific edaphoclimatic conditions of that year influenced such susceptibility. For this reason, it is important to investigate the environmental factors that may be influencing the growth of plants during the corresponding year, which affect the stability and quality of the essential oil.