Volatile constituents of Festuca nigrescens, Phleum alpinum and Poa alpina from N. W. Italian Alpine pastures.

• Published in: Natural Product Communications
• Main Authors: Aldo Tava, Roberto Cecotti, Luca Falchero, Giampiero Lombardi, Maris Grecchi, Mauro Coppa
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: Complementary and alternative medicine; Plant Science; Drug Discovery; Pharmacology; General Medicine; Fid; Poa alpina
• Online Access: https://www.openaccessrepository.it/record/108789; https://doi.org/10.1177/1934578x1100600124

The composition of the volatile fractions of three important grasses from subalpine N.W. Italian pastures, namely Festuca nigrescens Lam. non Gaudin (chewing fescue), Phleum alpinum L. (alpine timothy) and Poa alpina L. (alpine bluegrass) was investigated. The fresh aerial parts were collected at the flowering stage during the summer season. The volatile oils obtained from green tissues by steam distillation in a Clevenger-type apparatus, were analyzed by GC/FID and GC/MS. The oil yield was 0.04 ± 0.01% weight/fresh weight bases for each of the investigated species. Several classes of compounds were found in the volatile fractions, including aldehydes, alcohols, acids, hydrocarbons, esters, ketones, terpenes, and phenolics. Qualitative and quantitative differences were observed.