Comparative study of phytochemical profiles and morphological properties of some Damask roses from Iran

Background Rosa damascena is an aromatic rose species, which is cultivated for its essential oil, and is widely used in perfume, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and food industries in the world. This experiment was conducted to evaluate essential oil and morphological variations of 26 Damask rose genotypes. For this purpose, the effect of harvest time, i.e., early morning or evening, and sampling type, i.e., fresh or dried petals, on oil content was evaluated. In addition, the composition of essential oil of the genotypes was determined using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Results Results showed that early morning was the preferable time for flower collection based on oil content. Furthermore, the oil yield of fresh petals was higher than that of the dried petals. Twenty-five volatile compounds were found in the extracted oils. β-Damascenone, a key marker for the quality of rose oil, was found in 22 genotypes and was more than 1.5% concentration in G3, G6, and G11 genotypes. The highest components of the oil of Damask rose genotypes were nonadecane (42.51%), β-citronellol (40.82%), n -heneicosane (34.69%), geraniol (27.76%), and n -tricosane (14.2%). A wide variation in flower characteristics, such as petal color (from white to nearly red) and petal numbers from about 25 to 95, were also recorded. The G2, G5, and G15 genotypes, originated from Isfahan, Fars, and Kerman, respectively, were selected based on petal number, flower weight, and essential oil content in fresh and dried petals. Conclusions Results suggest that morphological and biochemical diversity of Damask rose genotypes can be used effectively to characterize genetic diversity between different genotypes and to select special traits in breeding programs. Graphical Abstract