Comparison of different helichrysum species in terms of agro-morphological characteristics and essential oil content

Abstract

Helichrysum species belonging to the Asteraceae family are popularly known as goldengrass, mantuvar, guddeme flower and immortelle in our country. Helichrysum species, which are commonly found in nature in Anatolia, are consumed as herbal tea. Helichrysum essential oils are used in folk medicine to protect against colds, kidney stones, stomach ailments, coronary heart disease, stroke and some cancer derivatives, thanks to their antioxidant, antiviral, antifungal, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory properties and phenolic compounds. This research was carried out to compare agro-morphological characteristics and essential oil ratio between cultured Helichrysum italicum (HI) and naturally distributed Helichrysum stoechas (HS) species. The experiment was established in Ege University Ödemiş Vocational School’s land in April 2022 with HS and HI species according to the Random Blocks Trial Design with 3 replications. In the study, plant height, green herb yield, dry herb yield, fresh flower yield, dry flower yield and essential oil ratio parameters were investigated. The results of the analysis of variance with the data of the investigated characteristics, it was determined that the culture form HI may be a more suitable medicinal plant for the ecological conditions of İzmir-Ödemiş compared to HS, which spreads in the flora.