Chemical composition of essential oils from the underground parts of Glycyrrhiza echinata L. accessions growing wild in Northern Iran.

Glycyrrhiza echinata L. is a perennial plant of considerable commercial importance in medicine, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and tobacco industries and the production of food additives as flavoring and sweetening agent. This study, variation on composition and yield of essential oil from the underground parts of five accessions of G. echinata growing wild in northern Iran was investigated. Results showed high variability for the main constituents of essential oil among accessions of G. echinata. The presence of α-pinene and myrcene in two accessions suggests that these volatiles could serve as chemotaxonomic markers and also might be considered as potentially relevant for taste. The presence of β-caryophyllene and α- caryophyllene in three accessions could be strong potential for being used in medical applications (anticancer and analgesic properties). Generally, the essential oils from G. echinata and other species could be very competitive targets for phytochemical and food studies.