Eryngo (Eryngium caucasicum Trautv.) is an aromatic and medicinal plant species that is valued for its bioactive compounds. However, there is limited knowledge about how environmental variations affect its growth and phytochemical traits. This study aimed to comparatively evaluate the morphological, biochemical, and essential oil characteristics of eight Eryngo populations cultivated under low-altitude (LA) and high-altitude (HA) conditions. Growth traits, total phenolics, total flavonoids, essential oil content, major constituents, antioxidant activity, and multivariate relationships were assessed using ANOVA, spectrophotometric assays, GC and GC/MS analysis, PCA, clustering, and correlation matrices. Significant (p < 0.05) effects were found for all measured traits. Plants cultivated at the low-altitude site exhibited greater vegetative growth, with populations such as Kelardasht and Sehezar showing superior plant height, leaf size, and biomass. In contrast, the high-altitude cultivation site was associated with higher secondary metabolites accumulation. The Sehezar population exhibited the highest total phenolic content (92.2 mg GAE g⁻1 DW) and flavonoid content (53.09 mg QE g⁻1 DW) at high altitude. Essential oil content and yield were increased in plants of the high-altitude cultivation site, along with significant changes in terpenoid composition. Major constituents, including limonene (2.1–14.9%), trans-ß-Farnesene (2.6–15.9%), Germacrene-D (2.1–9.5%), ß-Sesquiphellandrene (7.3–27.3%), α-Calacorene (3.4–8.4%), Piperitone (9.6–36.5%), cis-Dihydromayurone (2.2–16.2%), and (Z)-Falcarinol (4.1–24.2%) varied considerably in the samples between altitudes. Antioxidant capacity (as measured by DPPH and FICA) was notably higher in HA samples, particularly in Sehezar, Javaherdasht, and Dohezar. PCA and clustering analyses effectively differentiated populations and altitude groups, while correlation analysis revealed strong positive associations among growth traits and inverse relationships between vegetative traits and antioxidant-related traits. Populations such as Sehezar and Javaherdasht show promising potential for cultivation under the high-altitude site evaluated in this study. These findings provide preliminary evidence that contrasting cultivation environments may influence the growth and phytochemical characteristics of E. caucasicum. However, further validation under multiple environments and growing seasons is required before practical recommendations can be made.

Altitude-associated variation in growth, essential oil composition and antioxidant traits of Eryngium caucasicum populations

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2026年8月4日

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Mehrnaz Hatami

摘要

Eryngo (Eryngium caucasicum Trautv.) is an aromatic and medicinal plant species that is valued for its bioactive compounds. However, there is limited knowledge about how environmental variations affect its growth and phytochemical traits. This study aimed to comparatively evaluate the morphological, biochemical, and essential oil characteristics of eight Eryngo populations cultivated under low-altitude (LA) and high-altitude (HA) conditions. Growth traits, total phenolics, total flavonoids, essential oil content, major constituents, antioxidant activity, and multivariate relationships were assessed using ANOVA, spectrophotometric assays, GC and GC/MS analysis, PCA, clustering, and correlation matrices. Significant (p < 0.05) effects were found for all measured traits. Plants cultivated at the low-altitude site exhibited greater vegetative growth, with populations such as Kelardasht and Sehezar showing superior plant height, leaf size, and biomass. In contrast, the high-altitude cultivation site was associated with higher secondary metabolites accumulation. The Sehezar population exhibited the highest total phenolic content (92.2 mg GAE g⁻¹ DW) and flavonoid content (53.09 mg QE g⁻¹ DW) at high altitude. Essential oil content and yield were increased in plants of the high-altitude cultivation site, along with significant changes in terpenoid composition. Major constituents, including limonene (2.1–14.9%), trans-ß-Farnesene (2.6–15.9%), Germacrene-D (2.1–9.5%), ß-Sesquiphellandrene (7.3–27.3%), α-Calacorene (3.4–8.4%), Piperitone (9.6–36.5%), cis-Dihydromayurone (2.2–16.2%), and (Z)-Falcarinol (4.1–24.2%) varied considerably in the samples between altitudes. Antioxidant capacity (as measured by DPPH and FICA) was notably higher in HA samples, particularly in Sehezar, Javaherdasht, and Dohezar. PCA and clustering analyses effectively differentiated populations and altitude groups, while correlation analysis revealed strong positive associations among growth traits and inverse relationships between vegetative traits and antioxidant-related traits. Populations such as Sehezar and Javaherdasht show promising potential for cultivation under the high-altitude site evaluated in this study. These findings provide preliminary evidence that contrasting cultivation environments may influence the growth and phytochemical characteristics of E. caucasicum. However, further validation under multiple environments and growing seasons is required before practical recommendations can be made.