The Impact of Environmental Stress on the Secondary Metabolites and the Chemical Compositions of the Essential Oils from Some Medicinal Plants Used as Food Supplements

Abdelouahid Laftouhi, Noureddine Eloutassi, Elhachmia Ech-Chihbi, Zakia Rais, Abdelfattah Abdellaoui, Abdslam Taleb, Mustapha Beniken, Hiba-Allah Nafidi, Ahmad Mohammad Salamatullah, Mohammed Bourhia () and Mustapha Taleb
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Abdelouahid Laftouhi: Laboratory of Electrochemistry, Modeling and Environment Engineering (LIEME), Faculty of Sciences Fes, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez 30000, Morocco
Noureddine Eloutassi: Laboratory of Electrochemistry, Modeling and Environment Engineering (LIEME), Faculty of Sciences Fes, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez 30000, Morocco
Elhachmia Ech-Chihbi: Laboratory of Electrochemistry, Modeling and Environment Engineering (LIEME), Faculty of Sciences Fes, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez 30000, Morocco
Zakia Rais: Laboratory of Electrochemistry, Modeling and Environment Engineering (LIEME), Faculty of Sciences Fes, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez 30000, Morocco
Abdelfattah Abdellaoui: Laboratory of Electrochemistry, Modeling and Environment Engineering (LIEME), Faculty of Sciences Fes, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez 30000, Morocco
Abdslam Taleb: Laboratory of Biotechnology, Conservation and Valorisation of Natural Resources (LBCVNR), Faculty of Sciences Dhar El Mehraz, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdallah University, Fez 30000, Morocco
Mustapha Beniken: Laboratory of Electrochemistry, Modeling and Environment Engineering (LIEME), Faculty of Sciences Fes, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez 30000, Morocco
Hiba-Allah Nafidi: Department of Food Science, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Laval University, 2325, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
Ahmad Mohammad Salamatullah: Department of Food Science & Nutrition, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Mohammed Bourhia: Laboratory of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ibn Zohr University, Laayoune 70000, Morocco
Mustapha Taleb: Laboratory of Electrochemistry, Modeling and Environment Engineering (LIEME), Faculty of Sciences Fes, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez 30000, Morocco

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 10, 1-15

Abstract: This study aims to study the impact of environmental stresses on the chemical compositions of essential oils and the content of secondary metabolites of the plants most used by the rural population: Thymus vulgaris , Mentha pulégium and Rosmarinus officinalis . The results of the study indicate that the percentage of secondary metabolites increased in the second year when temperature and water pressure increased by 50%. Specifically, coumarin increased from 3.94% to 9.23%, saponins increased from 6.17% to 7.78%, tannins increased from 2.90% to 6.12%, alkaloids increased from 6.72% to 15.95%, and flavonoids increased from 7.42% to 12.90%. However, in the fourth year, the temperature continued to increase, and water availability decreased by 75%, leading to a decrease in the rate of secondary metabolites. Coumarin decreased from 9.22% to 6.15%, saponin decreased from 7.80% to 6.79%, tannin decreased from 6.11% to 4.16%, alkaloids decreased from 15.95% to 10.45%, and flavonoids decreased from 12.90% to 9.70%. Similar results were observed for the essential oil yield, which increased in year two from 3.57% to 3.84% and decreased in year four to 1.04%. The same pattern was observed for Mentha pulégium and Rosmarinus officinalis . The gas chromatography analysis of the three essential oil samples showed that the majority of the compounds of the three plants were modified under the conditions of climate change. For Mentha pulégium , pulegone was found to represent the highest proportion in sample two (73.3%), followed by sample one (71.1%), and finally, sample three (61.8%). For Rosmarinus officinalis , the majority of compounds were cineole and camphor, with cineole representing 36% in sample two, 45.89% in sample one, and 43.08% in sample three, and camphor representing 21.44% in sample two, 21.56% in sample three, and 17.44% in sample one. For Thymus vulgaris , the majority of the compounds were Thymol and Carvacrol, which underwent approximately the same modifications as the majority of compounds in the other two plants. The results indicate that environmental stresses can lead to significant changes in these compounds, which can affect the medicinal and aromatic properties of these plants. The findings of this study highlight the need for more research to understand the impacts of climate change on plant species and the potential implications for human health and well-being.

Keywords: ethnobotanical survey; phytochemical screening; aromatic and medicinal plant; Taounate; Morocco (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:10:p:7842-:d:1144020

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