Characteristics of Essential Oil from Young Shoots of Garden Angelica ( Angelica archangelica L.).

The objective of the study was to determine the content and composition of essential oil in the fresh young shoots of garden angelica collected in the first year of plant vegetation and to evaluate the effect of preservation method (convective drying at 35°C and lyophilization) on these parameters. Essential oil content in the fresh, convectively dried, and lyophilized shoots amounted to 0.27, 0.21, and 0.11 mL/100 g dry matter, respectively. In the essential oils obtained from these raw materials 91, 89, and 62 compounds were identified, respectively. In all the investigated essential oils the dominant compounds were: α-pinene (20.4–29.1%) and myrcene (17.0–26.7%). Other constituents included limonene (7.6% in the essential oil from fresh shoots), 6-methylhept-5-enal (3.0%), humulene epoxide II (2.4%), β-pinene (2.1%), perylene (1.9%), and α-humulene (1.8%). Both methods of drying resulted in the decrease in α-pinene content, and the increase in myrcene content. (Z,Z)-undeca-1,3,5-triene andtrans-myrtanol were completely lost during drying, irrespective of the method used. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]