Essential Oils of Persian Musk rose (Rosa moschata Herrm.) as Influenced by Drying and Harvest Times

Abstract

Persian musk rose (Rosa moschata Hermm.) is widely used in perfumes and cosmetics industries because of its medicinal properties and pleasant odour. Since synthesis and accumulation of volatile compounds affected by flower harvest time, the current study was conducted to evaluate and monitor the changes of volatiles in the essential oil (EO) of Persian Musk Rose petals harvested at different dates (May 11, May 21 and June 01). GC and GC-MS determined the compositions of EO. In addition, the EOs obtained from fresh and dried flowers harvested at different dates were compared to maximize yield and quality of EO. The highest EO yield was observed in the fresh and dried petals harvested at May11, which was significantly higher than the June samples; however, there was no significant difference between May 11 and May 21 samples. The EO composition at different harvest dates was significantly different in the fresh petals, and the highest phenyl ethyl alcohol (14.3%) was observed at the second harvest date. Monoterpenes increased from 2.4% in the first harvest to 8.5% in the third harvest. Aliphatic hydrocarbons showed an increasing pattern in the petals harvested at May 11 (78.6%) to June (86.4%). Concentration of oxygenated monoterpenes significantly reduced in the EO of the dried petals. After drying, phenylpropanoids reduced at the first and the second harvest dates and increased at the third harvest. However, the concentration of aliphatic hydrocarbons increased at the first and the second harvests and decreased at the third harvest date.