Chemical Composition of Common Liverwort (Marchantia polymorpha L.) and Racomitrium Moss (Racomitrium canescens (Hedw.) Brid) in Korea

Minji Hong1   Tae-Hee  Kim1,2   Kandhasamy  Sowndhararajan3,*   Songmun  Kim1   

1School of Natural Resource and Environmental Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Korea
2Agriproduct Processing Experiment Station, Gangwon-do Agriculture Research and Experiment Services, Chuncheon 24203, Korea
3Department of Botany, Kongunadu Arts and Science College, Coimbatore-641029, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

Bryophytes are an important group of non-vascular land plants and can be classified into three sub-divisions such as mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. Among them, mosses and liverworts contribute considerably to the biodiversity of terrestrial ecosystems. Bryophytes contain a variety of volatile components with various biological properties. However, studies about the volatile composition of bryophytes are meager. Hence, the present study aimed to compare the essential oil composition of Marchantia polymorpha L. (liverwort) and Racomitrium canescens (Hedw.) Brid. (Racomitrium moss), which are widely distributed in Korea. Essential oils from M. polymorpha and R. canescens were obtained using the steam distillation method and their compositions were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results revealed that essential oils of M. polymorpha and R. canescens registered markedly different chemical compositions. In M. polymorpha essential oil, widdrol (35.45%), thujopsene (11.20%), cuparene (7.67%), β-chamigrene (7.16%), α-bisabolol (6.69%), sativene (5.86%) were major components. Whereas the essential oil of R. canescens is mainly characterized by the estragole (58.86%) followed by D-limonene (7.20%). The GC-MS profiling of the essential oils extracted from these two species has been used in differentiating chemotypes within species. The data open new possibilities to understand the bioactive volatile components from Bryphytes.

Figures & Tables

Fig. 1. Morphology of (A) and (B).