Investigation of Environmental Factors Regarding the Essential Oil and Antibacterial Activity of Lavandin (Case Study: Jowkar, Khoramabad, Alashtar and Aligoodarz from Iran

Abstract. Plants produce thousands of primary and secondary metabolites including volatile compounds at various developmental stages throughout their life cycle during flowering, ripening, and maturation. Lavandin known for its volatile compounds is a small aromatic shrub cultivated worldwide for the essential oil. Lavandin essential oil composition is greatly influenced by the environmental and genetic factors. The essential oils from the leaves and flowers of the plant are widely used to enhance the flavor of foods as well as cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. In order to study the environmental factors regarding the essential oil and antibacterial activity of Lavandin, four populations were collected (Jowkar, Khoramabad, Alashtar and Aligoodarz) in Lorestan province, Iran in May 2014. The hydro-distillated essential oil was analyzed using GC and GC/MS. Results indicated that there were significant differences among the various populations for the main constituents in the essential oils. Analyses revealed 32 compounds constituting 91.63–97.2% of the essential oils. The main constituents were 1, 8-cineole (44.8 to 31.64%), borneol (26.14 to 18.47%), and camphor (14 to 8.41%). According to the results, there was a significant correlation between borneol and altitude (r=−0.95). Antibacterial data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance. The essential oils of Lavandin indicated good inhibitory activities against four bacteria, especially against Salmonella typhi with the inhibition zones of 19−23 mm. It was concluded that there was a high variation for the essential oil composition among the populations of Lavandin. In addition, the essential oil of Lavandula × intermedia has a good potential source of natural products for being used in food industry.