Productivity, Oil Content, Composition, and Bioactivity of Oil-bearing Rose Accessions

Abstract

Rose oil production worldwide is based on different oil-bearing Rosa species. This 4-year study determined the essential oil content, constituents, and morphologic/phenologic characteristics of 25 varieties, chemotypes, and hybrids belonging to five Rosa species (R. damascena Mill., R. gallica L., R. centifolia L., and R. alba L.). Limits of variation of these indices were established for each variety, chemotype, and hybrid group. The essential oil content of R. damascena varied from 0.032% to 0.049% and that of hybrid roses from 0.037% to 0.05%. The highest essential oil content was found in R. damascena accession Svejen 74 and the lowest in R. alba. Within R. damascena, the weight of single flowers varied from 2.09 to 3.44 g, the number of petals from 22 to 28, the height of the plants from 61 to 128 cm, and the diameter of bushes from 53 to 118 cm. R. centifolia had the largest flowers. The essential oil of the various species showed moderate to no antimicrobial activity at 50 μg/mL and no significant antibacterial, antifungal, antileishmania, or antimalarial activity at this concentration. All the tested species and accessions could be grown in Bulgaria (and possibly in southeastern Europe and the northern Mediterranean) and provide comparable productivity to the traditional species R. damascena. Wide variations occurred in essential oil content and constituents and morphologic/phenologic characteristics of the tested Rosa species and accessions. The availability of various species and chemotypes within specific species offer an opportunity for production of oil-bearing roses and essential oils to meet market requirements of specific rose oils.