Seasonal Variation in Volatile Profiles of Lemon Catnip (<i>Nepeta cataria</i> var. <i>citriodora</i>) Essential Oil and Hydrolate
Lemon catnip (<i>Nepeta cataria</i> var. <i>citriodora</i>) is an underutilized aromatic and medicinal plant known for its high essential oil yield and distinctive lemon-like scent, and is widely used in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food, and biopesticide industries. Unlike...
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2025-07-01
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| author | Milica Aćimović Biljana Lončar Milica Rat Mirjana Cvetković Jovana Stanković Jeremić Milada Pezo Lato Pezo |
| author_facet | Milica Aćimović Biljana Lončar Milica Rat Mirjana Cvetković Jovana Stanković Jeremić Milada Pezo Lato Pezo |
| author_sort | Milica Aćimović |
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| description | Lemon catnip (<i>Nepeta cataria</i> var. <i>citriodora</i>) is an underutilized aromatic and medicinal plant known for its high essential oil yield and distinctive lemon-like scent, and is widely used in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food, and biopesticide industries. Unlike typical catnip, it lacks nepetalactones and is rich in terpene alcohols, such as nerol and geraniol, making it a promising substitute for lemon balm. Despite its diverse applications, little attention has been paid to the valorization of byproducts from essential oil distillation, such as hydrolates and their secondary recovery oils. This study aimed to thoroughly analyze the volatile compound profiles of the essential oil from Lemon catnip and the recovery oil derived from its hydrolate over three consecutive growing seasons, with particular emphasis on how temperature and precipitation influence the major volatile constituents. The essential oil was obtained via semi-industrial steam distillation, producing hydrolate as a byproduct, which was then further processed using a Likens–Nickerson apparatus to extract the recovery oil, also known as secondary oil. Both essential and recovery oils were predominantly composed of terpene alcohols, with nerol (47.5–52.3% in essential oils; 43.5–54.3% in recovery oils) and geraniol (25.2–27.9% in essential oils; 29.4–32.6% in recovery oils) as the primary components. While sesquiterpene hydrocarbons were mostly confined to the essential oil, the recovery oil was distinguished by a higher presence of monooxygenated and more hydrophilic terpenes. Over the three-year period, elevated temperatures led to increased levels of geraniol, geranial, neral, and citronellal in both oils, whereas cooler conditions favored the accumulation of nerol and linalool, especially in the recovery oils. Higher precipitation was associated with elevated concentrations of nerol and linalool but decreased levels of geraniol, geranial, and neral, possibly due to dilution or degradation processes. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3ab1b4eea4c146149380fec3b72b2ea7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2311-7524 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
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| series | Horticulturae |
| spelling | doaj-art-3ab1b4eea4c146149380fec3b72b2ea72025-08-20T03:36:21ZengMDPI AGHorticulturae2311-75242025-07-0111786210.3390/horticulturae11070862Seasonal Variation in Volatile Profiles of Lemon Catnip (<i>Nepeta cataria</i> var. <i>citriodora</i>) Essential Oil and HydrolateMilica Aćimović0Biljana Lončar1Milica Rat2Mirjana Cvetković3Jovana Stanković Jeremić4Milada Pezo5Lato Pezo6Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops Novi Sad (IFVCNS)—National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Maksima Gorkog 30, 21000 Novi Sad, SerbiaFaculty of Technology Novi Sad, University of Novi Sad, Bulevar Cara Lazara 1, 21000 Novi Sad, SerbiaFaculty of Science, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 3, 21000 Novi Sad, SerbiaInstitute of Chemistry, Technology and Metallurgy (IHTM)—National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Njegoševa 12, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute of Chemistry, Technology and Metallurgy (IHTM)—National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Njegoševa 12, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaDepartment of Thermal Engineering and Energy, “Vinča” Institute of Nuclear Sciences—National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, 11001 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute of General and Physical Chemistry, University of Belgrade, Studentski Trg 12-16, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaLemon catnip (<i>Nepeta cataria</i> var. <i>citriodora</i>) is an underutilized aromatic and medicinal plant known for its high essential oil yield and distinctive lemon-like scent, and is widely used in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food, and biopesticide industries. Unlike typical catnip, it lacks nepetalactones and is rich in terpene alcohols, such as nerol and geraniol, making it a promising substitute for lemon balm. Despite its diverse applications, little attention has been paid to the valorization of byproducts from essential oil distillation, such as hydrolates and their secondary recovery oils. This study aimed to thoroughly analyze the volatile compound profiles of the essential oil from Lemon catnip and the recovery oil derived from its hydrolate over three consecutive growing seasons, with particular emphasis on how temperature and precipitation influence the major volatile constituents. The essential oil was obtained via semi-industrial steam distillation, producing hydrolate as a byproduct, which was then further processed using a Likens–Nickerson apparatus to extract the recovery oil, also known as secondary oil. Both essential and recovery oils were predominantly composed of terpene alcohols, with nerol (47.5–52.3% in essential oils; 43.5–54.3% in recovery oils) and geraniol (25.2–27.9% in essential oils; 29.4–32.6% in recovery oils) as the primary components. While sesquiterpene hydrocarbons were mostly confined to the essential oil, the recovery oil was distinguished by a higher presence of monooxygenated and more hydrophilic terpenes. Over the three-year period, elevated temperatures led to increased levels of geraniol, geranial, neral, and citronellal in both oils, whereas cooler conditions favored the accumulation of nerol and linalool, especially in the recovery oils. Higher precipitation was associated with elevated concentrations of nerol and linalool but decreased levels of geraniol, geranial, and neral, possibly due to dilution or degradation processes.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/11/7/862<i>Nepeta cataria</i>temperature and precipitation effectsvolatile compoundsrecovery oil |
| spellingShingle | Milica Aćimović Biljana Lončar Milica Rat Mirjana Cvetković Jovana Stanković Jeremić Milada Pezo Lato Pezo Seasonal Variation in Volatile Profiles of Lemon Catnip (<i>Nepeta cataria</i> var. <i>citriodora</i>) Essential Oil and Hydrolate Horticulturae <i>Nepeta cataria</i> temperature and precipitation effects volatile compounds recovery oil |
| title | Seasonal Variation in Volatile Profiles of Lemon Catnip (<i>Nepeta cataria</i> var. <i>citriodora</i>) Essential Oil and Hydrolate |
| title_full | Seasonal Variation in Volatile Profiles of Lemon Catnip (<i>Nepeta cataria</i> var. <i>citriodora</i>) Essential Oil and Hydrolate |
| title_fullStr | Seasonal Variation in Volatile Profiles of Lemon Catnip (<i>Nepeta cataria</i> var. <i>citriodora</i>) Essential Oil and Hydrolate |
| title_full_unstemmed | Seasonal Variation in Volatile Profiles of Lemon Catnip (<i>Nepeta cataria</i> var. <i>citriodora</i>) Essential Oil and Hydrolate |
| title_short | Seasonal Variation in Volatile Profiles of Lemon Catnip (<i>Nepeta cataria</i> var. <i>citriodora</i>) Essential Oil and Hydrolate |
| title_sort | seasonal variation in volatile profiles of lemon catnip i nepeta cataria i var i citriodora i essential oil and hydrolate |
| topic | <i>Nepeta cataria</i> temperature and precipitation effects volatile compounds recovery oil |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/11/7/862 |
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