Agronomical evaluation of Sicilian biotypes of Lavandula stoechas L. spp. stoechas and analysis of the essential oils

The aim of this study was to characterize wild lavender, which was collected in three different areas of Sicily (Italy),according to agronomic and chemical evaluation. The collection sites were located in Pantelleria island, Partinico (a warm sub-area of Lauretum) and Castelbuono (a middle sub-area of Lauretum). All the populations were identified as Lavandula stoechas L. ssp. stoechas. Essential oils were extracted by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography– flame ionization detector (GC–FID) and GC–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). GC–FID and GC–MS analyses permitted the identification of 101 components from the essential oils. We analyzed only the flowers and leaves of L. stoechas and the samples were analyzed using the PCA (principal component analysis) methodology regarding the chemical composition of the essential oils. Comparisons were carried out between the chemical compositions of essential oils from Sicilian populations and other Mediterranean populations. The essential oils of Sicilian L. stoechas biotypes were fenchone chemotype with percentages ranging from 45.29% to 60.27%. The qualitative chemical composition of the essential oils varied according to the different areas of origin of the plant material. Sicilian biotypes of L. stoechas showed high differences in chemical composition compared with the populations coming from other Mediterranean areas.