Volatile constituents of Melissa officinalis leaves determined by plant age

The present study investigated changes in the content and chemical composition of the essential oil extracted by hydrodistillation from air-dried Melissa officinalis L. (lemon balm) leaves in the first and second year of plant growth. The lemon balm oil was analysed by GC-MS and GC-FID. The presence of 106 compounds, representing 100% of the oil constituents, was determined in the oil. The predominant components were geranial (45.2% and 45.1%) and neral (32.8% and 33.8%); their proportions in the examined samples of the oil obtained from one- and two-year-old plants were comparable. However, the age of lemon balm plants affected the concentration of other constituents and the proportions of the following compounds were subject to especially high fluctuations: citronellal (8.7% and 0.4%), geraniol (trace amounts and 0.6%), and geranyl acetate (0.5% and 3.0%), as well as, among others, isogeranial, E-caryophyllene, caryophyllene oxide, germacrene D, and carvacrol. The essential oil of two-year-old plants was characterized by a richer chemical composition than the oil from younger plants.