Phytochemical Diversity and Genetic Characterization of Mountain Tea ( Sideritis sect. Empedoclia ) from Greece

Christos E. Ioannou, Eleni Liveri, Charikleia Papaioannou, Konstantina Zeliou, Virginia D. Dimaki, Aris Zografidis, Gregoris Iatrou, Panayiotis Trigas, Vasileios Papasotiropoulos () and Fotini N. Lamari ()
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Christos E. Ioannou: Laboratory of Pharmacognosy and Chemistry of Natural Products, Department of Pharmacy, University of Patras, 26504 Rio, Greece
Eleni Liveri: Laboratory of Botany, Section of Plant Biology, Department of Biology, University of Patras, 26504 Rio, Greece
Charikleia Papaioannou: Laboratory of Applied Genetics and Breeding, Section of Genetics, Cell and Developmental Biology, Department of Biology, University of Patras, 26504 Rio, Greece
Konstantina Zeliou: Laboratory of Pharmacognosy and Chemistry of Natural Products, Department of Pharmacy, University of Patras, 26504 Rio, Greece
Virginia D. Dimaki: Laboratory of Pharmacognosy and Chemistry of Natural Products, Department of Pharmacy, University of Patras, 26504 Rio, Greece
Aris Zografidis: Laboratory of Botany, Section of Plant Biology, Department of Biology, University of Patras, 26504 Rio, Greece
Gregoris Iatrou: Laboratory of Botany, Section of Plant Biology, Department of Biology, University of Patras, 26504 Rio, Greece
Panayiotis Trigas: Laboratory of Systematic Botany, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, 11855 Athens, Greece
Vasileios Papasotiropoulos: Laboratory of Plant Breeding and Biometry, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, 11855 Athens, Greece
Fotini N. Lamari: Laboratory of Pharmacognosy and Chemistry of Natural Products, Department of Pharmacy, University of Patras, 26504 Rio, Greece

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 15, 1-19

Abstract: Members of Sideritis sect. Empedoclia (Lamiaceae), known as ‘mountain tea’, are widely used medicinal plants. Their taxonomic classification is complex due to frequent hybridization and subtle morphological distinctions. This study examines 12 populations of eight native Sideritis taxa from Greece: S. clandestina subsp. clandestina , S. clandestina subsp. peloponnesiaca , S. euboea , S. raeseri subsp. raeseri , S. raeseri subsp. attica , S. scardica , S. sipylea , and S. syriaca subsp. syriaca . The objectives were to (1) monitor non-polar secondary metabolites (mainly terpenoids) using gas chromatography; (2) shed light on their phylogenetic relationships; (3) evaluate the correlation between genetic and chemical data. Diterpenes, particularly sideridiol, siderol, 7-epicandicandiol, and ent -3α,18-dihydroxy-kaur-16-ene, were the most abundant chemical compounds. Categorical Principal Component Analysis revealed that S. raeseri subsp. attica is chemically distinct, while the rest are grouped into two clusters: one comprising S. clandestina and S. sipylea , and the other including all the rest. Genetic analysis based on chloroplast DNA ( matK , psbA-trnH , trnL-F ), showed that S. sipylea and S. syriaca subsp. syriaca were the most phylogenetically distant groups. Our study enhances the understanding of Sideritis chemovariability and phylogeny, supporting also taxonomic, authentication, and breeding efforts.

Keywords: chemotaxing; cpDNA markers; endemism; Greek flora; phylogenetics; terpenoids; siderol (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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