Chritmum maritimum L., an edible plant. Chemical composition, PCA analysis and food safety

Abstract

In this research, the volatile profile of essential oils of aerial parts of four Crithmum maritimum L. accessions, not previously investigated, collected in Isola delle Femmine (Italy), Croatia, Montenegro, and Israel were evaluated by GC-MS and 38 compounds were identified. All the samples analyzed show a composition characterized essentially by monoterpene hydrocarbons (94.0-97.6%), with limonene, γ-terpinene, βphellandrene, α-pinene, and p-cymene as the principal compounds. In addition, a comprehensive review of the composition of C. maritimum essential oils that have been studied thus far was conducted. To evaluate the similarity between samples, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) were utilized. To assess the safety of dietary of C. maritimum, a matrix plot analysis of the content of dillapiole, a toxic constituent, in the samples was performed. The results of the statistical analysis show the presence of six clusters indicating some differences between C. maritimum accessions from different locations. Regarding dillapiole content, the four accessions discussed in this paper showed dillapiole values of less than 2%, suggesting the healthiness of sea fennel from these locations.