Milica Pavlovic* and Nada Kovaˇcevic and Olga Tzakou and Maria Couladis

Abstract: The essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation from aerial parts of five ,i>Valeriana species, growing wild in Serbia and Montenegro, Valeriana officinalis L., V. pancicii Halácsy et Bald., V. bertiscea Pancic, V. montana L. and V. braunii-blanquetii Lakušic were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The major compounds were found to be α-kessyl acetate (15.4%) and bornyl acetate (14.2%) in V. officinalis oil, patchouli alcohol (36.8%) in V. pancicii oil, isovaleric acid (13.2-39.0%) and 3-methylvaleric acid (10.0-30.8%) in the oils of V. bertiscea, V. montana and V. brauniiblanquetii.

The genus Valeriana L. includes about 350 species that are widely distributed in the temperate regions of Europe, Asia, North America and also occur in Central and South America (1). In the Flora Europaea the genus is represented by 20 species, while in Serbia and Montenegro nine species are reported. The plants of this genus are rhizomatous, sometimes stoloniferous, perennial herbs with erect, usually unbranched flowering stems and white or pink flowers organized in cymose inflorescence. Valeriana pancicii Halácsy et Bald. [Syn. Valeriana saxatilis L. subsp. pancicii (Halácsy et Bald.)] is endemic to Montenegro and northern Albania, while V. bertiscea Pancic is a species endemic to Balkan Peninsula (2–5). The most well-known species of this genus is V. officinalis whose roots and rhizomes have been used as a sedative for many centuries (6). According to the Commission E, Valerian is indicated as an anti-anxiety agent for the treatment of restlessness and sleep disturbances resulting from nervous conditions (7). The main compounds that have been isolated from Valeriana species are ester iridoids (valepotriates), cyclopentanoid sesquiterpenes (valerenic acid and its derivatives) and essential oil (8–11). As a part of our research on plants of genus Valeriana L. (12–14), we have investigated the chemical composition of essential oils from the aerial parts of five Valeriana spp., growing wild in Serbia and Montenegro. The oils from roots and rhizomes of V. officinalis, V. pancicii and V. montana have been the subject of previous studies (14—16). However, to our knowledge, this is the first study of the oils from the aerial parts of the species that we have investigated, with the exception of one report on leaf oil of V. officinalis from Italy (17).