The essential oil chemical composition of aerial parts of a new chemotype of Scutellaria altissima growing wild in North Macedonia

Abstract

The genus Scutellaria L. (Lamiaceae) has a very wide geographical distribution across all temperate regions. Due to the potential medicinal value of Scutellaria, especially as antifeedant and anti-cancer, a very large number of phytochemical and pharmacology investigations have been carried out. Scutellaria altissima L. is a perennial herbaceous plant native to East Central Europe to Caucasus. Chemical composition of the essential oil from the aerial parts of S. altissima (Sa), collected in North Macedonia, and investigated for the first time in this study, was evaluated by gas chromatography (GC-MS). Sa (yield 0.01%), was characterised by good amounts of phenylpropanoids phenylpropanoids (54.2%), with myristicin (47.8%) as the principal metabolites of the oil. Other abundant compounds were linalool (13.1%), apiol (6.4%), and 1-octen-3-ol (4.9%). The chemical profile of Sa was compared with the composition all other essential oils (EOs) of Scutellaria species showing some peculiar characteristics.