Essential oil polymorphism in the ‘resurrection plant’ Myrothamnus moschatus and associated ethnobotanical knowledge

Gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy analysis (GC/MS) of essential oils obtained from populations of the resurrection plant Myrothamnus moschatus, growing in different areas of Madagascar, allowed identification of three main chemotypes in the species. The first one was provided by plants with a high content of trans-pinocarveol and pinocarvone; the second one involved plants with high percentages of limonene, cis- and trans-p-mentha-1(7),8-dien-2-ol, and β-selinene; and the third chemotype was characterized by plants with high levels of oxygenated sesquiterpenes such as caryophyllene oxide and α- and β-isomers of caryophylla-4(12),8(13)-dien-5-ol. Chemical data were supported by chemometric technique as the principal component analysis. Furthermore, the relationship between the dioecy and phytochemistry within one population was also considered. Finally, correlations between chemical variations and ethnobotanical data were assessed.