ESSENTIAL OIL OF SOME POPULATIONS OF Tagetes lucida Cav. FROM THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN REGIONS OF THE STATE OF MEXICO

Abstract

The enormous natural richness of T. lucida in the Sate of Mexico has not been considered as an object in phytochemical studies, which is a basic information for the development of biopesticides. In this study, the chemical composition of the essential oil of populations of T. lucida from North and South of the State of Mexico was determined, where six types of soils and six climatic conditions were detected. The oil of floral stems from 14 populations of T. lucida was obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC / MS), identifying 44 chemical compounds, 32 % of them in populations from the North (9 to 13 compounds) and 68 % in populations from the South (16 to 23 compounds). The yields of essential oil were from 0.005 to 0.03 % (mL 100 g^-1 of dry tissue), in Northern populations and from 0.001 to 0.005 % in Southern ones. Major compounds in Northern populations of cold temperate climates were phenylpropenes: anethole, estragole (35 and 46 % respectively in the Jilotepec population) and methyl eugenol (56 and 64 % in the Acambay and Atlacomulco populations, respectively). In Southern populations with a warm climate the major compounds were monoterpenes: geranyl acetate (25 to 33 % in Coatepec Harinas; 12 to 27 % in Villa Guerrero; 23 to 40 % in Ixtapan de la Sal; 31 % in Tonatico and 19 % in Pilcaya) and β-ocimene (14 to 16 % in Coatepec Harinas; 15 to 23 % in Ixtapan de la Sal and Villa Guerrero; 24 % in Tonatico and Pilcaya). The compounds β-myrcene, β-ocimene and linalool were common in all populations and the presence of geranyl acetate is reported here by first time for genus Tagetes.