Study of Essential Oil Content and Composition of Different Parts of Lemon verbena (Lippia citriodora) Grown in Iran

Lemon verbena (Lippia citriodora) is well known as one of the most important secondary metabolite containing plants accumulating metabolites in both vegetative and reproductive organs. The aim of this study was to investigate the content and chemical composition of essential oils in different organs of lemon verbena. Vegetative parts (leaf and stem) and reproductive parts (flower and fruit) of plants were harvested, separately. The quality of essential oil was evaluated by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/ mass (GC-Mass). Results showed significant differences on quantity and quality of essential oil in tested organs. The highest essential oil content was observed in the reproductive organs (flower) and the lowest contents belonged to the stem and fruit organs. The qualitative analysis showed over 50 compounds in the essential oil of different organs of Lippia citriodora, of which 16-20 compounds were considered as the major compounds (>0.7 %). Geranial (30.67 - 36.87 %), neral (21.71-28.33 %) and limonene (6.07 - 7.27 %) were the major constituents in essential oil of different organs of lemon verbena.