Sanduin Shatar*, Robert P. Adams and Wilfried Koenig†

Abstract: The essential oil of the rhizomes of Mongolian Rhodiola rosea L. was investigated by GC and GC/MS. Thirty-six constituents were identified in the oil. The main components in the oil were geraniol (32.3%), myrtenol (15.7%), octanol (13.7%), trans-pinocarveol (11.6%), trans-myrtanol (3.2%), isopinocamphone (2.8%) and piperitone (1.2%). Comparisons are made with Rhodiola rosea rhizome oil from Finland and Norway and oils from other Rhodiola species (R. crenulata, Tibet; R. fastigiata, Tibet; R. yunnanesis, China).

Rhodiola rosea L. (Crassulaceae) has reportedly been used in food (1) as well as in traditional Tibetan-Mongolian folk medicine (2). The Mongolian name for Rhodiola rosea is Altan (golden) gagnuur (solder). The plant is considered an excellent medicine to treat bone fractures (3). Rose root is a multipurpose medicinal plant with properties to increase nonspecific resistance of the body. It has traditionally been grown and used in Russia and Mongolia for the treatment of long term illnesses and weakness due to infection (4–6). The chemical composition of rhizomes of R. rosea has been exhaustively studied by East European research groups (7–10). Active phenolic metabolites include saliroside and its aglycon tyrosol (11–13), cinnamic glycosides such as rosin, rosavin and rosarin (14), flavonoids (15–17), tannins (18), gallic acid and its esters (8,12), and the essential oil (5,19–21). The composition of rhizome oil from Rhodiola rosea from Norway and Finland have been recently reported (5,22).