Evaluation of distribution, phytochemical diversity and essential oil content of different populations of four Prangos species in north-west of Iran

In this study, 19 wild-grown populations of Prangos (P. acaulic, P. ferulacea, P. uloptera andP. asperula) from North-West of Iran were collected and total phenol and flavonoid content, antioxidant activity, chlorophyll a and b, total carotenoid and essential oil content were evaluated. According to the results, the highest total phenol content (12.5 mg GAE/g DW) was recorded in the population of Ghoshchi from P. uloptera collected from West Azarbaijan province and the lowest content (4.18 mg GAE/g DW) was observed in Showt population (P. Ferulacea), collected from Showt, West Azarbaijan. The highest (5.51mg/g DW) and lowest (1.2 mg/g DW) amount of total flavonoid content recorded in the population of Baneh from Kurdistan province (P. Ferulacea) and Naghadeh population of West Azarbaijan (P. asperula), respectively. In addition, the highest level of chlorophyll a (0.41 mg/g DW) and b (0.69 mg/g DW) was recorded in the population of Showt3 (P. uloptera), located in West Azarbaijan province, and the highest level of carotenoid (61.36 mg/g DW) was observed in Saqqez population (P. ferulacea) from Kurdistan province. The highest antioxidant activity (77.08 %) was obtained in the Showt population (P. Ferulacea). The highest percentage of essential oil was observed in the population of Maku (P. acaulic) and Showt2 (P. ferulacea) collected from West Azarbaijan province. According to the results of cluster and factor analysis, there were high phytochemical variations in different populations collected from different regions of the North-West of Iran, which can be used in breeding programs of this plant.