Volatile Oil Constituents of Rosa canina L. : Quality As Affected by the Distillation Method

Abstract EN

The volatile oils of R.

canina flowers were isolated by hydrodistillation (HD) and traditional dry distillation (DD) and analyzed by HRGC-FID and GC-MS.

Compared to HD, DD at 50°C leads to the isolation of high quality oil which contains the highest content of oxygenated compounds (83%).

The main components are the 2-phenethyl alcohol and eugenol.

The percentage of the 2-phenethyl alcohol, a highly desirable component in rose oil, was significantly higher (58.4%) in DD extract when compared to that of HD one (13.6%).

As temperature increased (100°C) during DD, the oil quality decreased.

The most significant changes were observed in 2-phenethyl alcohol percentage (4.5%).

Moreover, an increase of alkanes/alkenes and the production of furan derivatives were observed.

So, DD at moderate temperature (50°C) seemed more suitable to improve the volatile oil quality and hence, to make more value of R.

canina.