molecules

Article
Seasonal Variation in Chemical Compositions of Essential Oils
Extracted from Lavandin Flowers in the Yun-Gui Plateau
of China
Zhenni Liao 1,2 , Qing Huang 1,3,4, *, Qiming Cheng 1 , Sardar Khan 1 and Xiaoying Yu 5

1 Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment,

Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; 2018010157@m.scnu.edu.cn (Z.L.);
chengren008@163.com (Q.C.); sardar.khan2008@yahoo.com (S.K.)
2 Chenzhou Institute of Forestry, Chenzhou 423000, China
3 College of Ecology & Environment, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
4 Center for Eco-Environmental Restoration Engineering of Hainan Province, Hainan University,
Haikou 570228, China
5 Horticulture College, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China; xyyu2011@126.com
* Correspondence: huangqing@hainanu.edu.cn or qh425806@163.com

Abstract: Lavandin, as an important cash crop, is cultivated in Kunming, Yun-Gui Plateau of China.
For the special growing environment, Lavandin was grown here and used to investigate the changes
in the yield and chemical compositions of essential oils extracted from the flowers in different seasons.



The essential oils were extracted by hydro-distillation and analysis by gas chromatography-mass


spectrometry (GC-MS). Results indicated great changes in chemical composition depending on the
Citation: Liao, Z.; Huang, Q.; Cheng,
season of harvesting. The yields of essential oils ranged from 2.0% to 3.8% among the seasons, and
Q.; Khan, S.; Yu, X. Seasonal Variation
the highest yield was in the summer. Chemical composition data showed that the extracted oils
in Chemical Compositions of
were rich in oxygenated monoterpenes (55.4–81.4%), eucalyptol (38.7–49.8%), camphor (8.41–14.26%),
Essential Oils Extracted from
Lavandin Flowers in the Yun-Gui
α-bisabolol (6.6–25.5%), and linalool (4.6–12.5%). The contents of eucalyptol and α-bisabolol changed
Plateau of China. Molecules 2021, 26, in a contrary trend with seasonal variations. The results provided new insight for Chinese Lavandin
5639. https://doi.org/10.3390/ germplasm to be used in application and development, and reference to the researcher, the farmer,
molecules26185639 and investor for sustainable industrialization of the plant grown in the Yun-Gui Plateau of China,
but also the similar plateau area of the sustainable developments.
Academic Editors: Andrea Liliana
Clavijo McCormick, Ülo Niinemets Keywords: Lavandin; essential oil; Yun-Gui Plateau; monoterpenes; eucalyptol; camphor
and Velemir Ninkovic

Received: 4 August 2021

Accepted: 13 September 2021 1. Introduction
Published: 17 September 2021
Lavandula species are outstanding members of the family Lamiaceae, which are native
to the Mediterranean region and south to tropical Africa, with a disjunction to India, and are
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral
currently widely cultivated in many regions of the world [1]. The genus is an ornamental
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional affil-
and aromatic shrub, which is valuable for the production of essential oils of commercial
iations.
value as a fragrance, pharmaceutical preparations, and cosmetic products, and is also used
in the food industry and ecological agriculture [2–7].
These essential oils have been obtained from the flowers, stems, and leaves of the
species L. angustifolia, L. hybridia, and L. latifolia, and are classified into three groups on
the basis of their content of linalool, linalool acetate, and camphor [8]. Due to their wide
Copyright: © 2021 by the authors.
economic exploitation, there are many reports on the fragrances of essential oils and
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
identification of constituents from the Lavandula species. These studies demonstrate a
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
high degree of intraspecific differences of chemical constituents in the oil, as influenced
conditions of the Creative Commons
by genotype, age, development periods, organ, climate, geography, season, and even
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
extraction method, etc. [9–17].
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ Yun-Gui Plateau is a subtropical monsoon climate region with favorable environ-
4.0/). mental and edaphic conditions for ornamental, aromatic, and medicinal plants. Since

Molecules 2021, 26, 5639. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26185639 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/molecules

Molecules 2021, 26, 5639 2 of 8

the cultivation of Lavandula species in Yun-Gui Plateau, Lavandin, blooming in the field
throughout the growing season year, and even during winter, has become an important
cash crop in the mountainous region. Despite growing interest and the commercial impor-
tance of Lavandin, farmers are more interested to imply in the quality and development of
essential oil. To the best of our knowledge, there are few reports on the variation of yield
and chemical compositions of essential oil from flowers of Lavandin (Lavandula angustifolia
Mill. × Lavandula latifolia Medik.) collected over several months during the flowering
season in the plateau of China. The variation in the content of volatile oils related to the
flowering phase can help to ensure the required quality and quantity of raw material. This
aspect is very important from the point of view of Lavandin for exploitation and utilization.
Therefore, the aim of this study was to reveal the variation of yield and chemical compo-
sition of Lavandin oils in order to provide a reference for sustainable industrialization of
the plant grown in the Yun-Gui Plateau of China, and provided new insight for Chinese
Lavandin germplasm to be used in application.

2. Results and Discussion

2.1. Yields of Essential Oils
The essential oils extracted from the fresh flowers of Lavandin were pale yellow in
color with an aromatic-spicy odor. The yields of oils in different seasons are different,
where the highest is 90% higher than the lowest (Figure 1), namely, the essential oil yields
varied almost two-fold between seasons. The lowest yield (2.0%) was observed in winter, a
period with no rainfall. The highest yield (3.8%) was obtained in summer, while the yields
ranged from 3.0% to 3.7% in spring and autumn months. The results show that higher
temperatures and rainfall favor essential oil biosynthesis during the normal flowering
time before harvesting in summer (Figure 1). Furthermore, Pearson correlations showed
that the yields of essential oil were significantly positively correlated with temperature
(r = 0.899, p < 0.05), but not significantly positively correlated with precipitation (r = 0.812,
p > 0.05) (Table 1). De Alencar Filho [18] also found that the highest yields occurred in
the raining period, but the best essential oil quality of Croton heliotropiifolius occurred in
the months of lower rainfall, lower relative humidity, and higher temperature, a result
similar to in our study. Additionally, a higher yield was obtained from samples collected in
spring-B (before) (3.7%) than spring-A (after) (3.0%), and the total rainfall in the period
spring-B was higher than spring-A, accounting for 147 and 113 mm, respectively. This may
be linked with heavier rainfall and stronger UV radiation in spring and before flowering.
Kumari and Agrawal [19] found that the yield of essential oil of Holy basil increased after
UV-B treatment. However, Hassiotis et al. [20] found that some rainfall in spring and none
immediately before the time of harvesting increased essential oil production. Similarly,
previous studies also revealed that differences in the essential oil yields of the other plants
could be attributed to seasonal weather variation [21–23].

Table 1. The correlations between yields of essential oil and climate.

Item Yield Temperature Precipitation

Yield 1 0.899 * 0.812
Temperature 1 0.794
Precipitation 1
* Indicates significance at the 0.05 level.
Molecules 2021, 26, x FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 10
Molecules 2021, 26, 5639 3 of 8

Figure 1. The mean yields of essential oil (%), temperature (◦ C) (I), and precipitation (mm) (II)
during1.the
Figure Thesampling period.
mean yields Yield defined
of essential as the
oil (%), total mass(°C)
temperature of extracted oils expressed
(Ⅰ), and precipitation as %(Ⅱ)
(mm) of plant
material
during fresh
the mass; Results
sampling period. are provided
Yield definedasasmean ± SD;
the total Values
mass with different
of extracted letters areas
oils expressed significantly
% of
plant material
different fresh mass;
(p < 0.05), Results
according are provided
to Tukey’s as mean
multiple range± test;
SD; Values
Kunming with different
climate dataletters are from
derived
significantly different (p < 0.05), according
China Meteorological Administration. to Tukey’s multiple range test; Kunming climate data
derived from China Meteorological Administration.
2.2. Chemical Compositions of the Essential Oil
2.2. Chemical Compositions of the Essential Oil
Qualitative and quantitative variation in compositions of Lavandin essential oils
Qualitative
between seasons and
werequantitative
observed,variation
Figures S1–S5in compositions of Lavandin essential
in the Supplementary Materialsoils be-
report
tween seasons were observed, Figuer S1–S5 in the Supplementary
the GC-MS patterns of samples from each season (analysed with an oven temperature Materials report the
GC-MS
program patterns of samples
up to 230 ◦ C), and from
56, 56,each season
77, 44, and (analysed with an
64 constituents oven
were temperature
identified pro-
by GC-MS
gram up to 230 °C), and 56, 56, 77, 44, and 64 constituents were identified
at the five sampling times. A complete list of identified compounds and their relative by GC-MS at
the five sampling times. A complete list of identified compounds and
contents are summarized in Table 1. Samples taken during different seasons varied in the their relative con-
tents arecontents
relative summarized in Table 1.but
of compounds Samples
not in the taken
rangeduring different seasons
of compounds present.varied
This isin the
a new
relative contents of compounds but not in the range of compounds
chemotype of Lavandula in China, and it was found to contain eucalyptol (38.7–49.8%), present. This is a new
chemotype of Lavandula
camphor (8.4–14.3%), in China,
linalool and it was
(4.6–12.5%), and found to contain
α-bisabolol eucalyptol
(6.6–25.5%). Other(38.7–49.8%),
constituents
camphor (8.4–14.3%),
were identified linalool (4.6–12.5%),
as α-pinene and α-bisabolol
(1.2–3.9%), β-pinene (6.6–25.5%).
(2.8–7.3%), Other
β-terpieol constituents
(1.0–2.2%), ter-
were identified as α-pinene (1.2–3.9%), β-pinene (2.8–7.3%), β-terpieol
pieol (0.4–1.6%), caryophyllene oxide (0.5–1.3%), and bisabolol oxide B (0.7–1.7%). These(1.0–2.2%), terpieol
(0.4–1.6%),
essential oilscaryophyllene
were dominatedoxide by(0.5–1.3%),
oxygenated and bisabolol oxide (55.4–81.4%),
monoterpenes B (0.7–1.7%). These essen-
followed by
tial oils were dominated by oxygenated monoterpenes (55.4–81.4%),
oxygenated sesquiterpenes (9.45–29.2%), monoterpene hydrocarbons (5.11–13.5%), and followed by oxygen-
ated sesquiterpenes
sesquiterpene (9.45–29.2%),
hydrocarbons monoterpene
(0.21–1.76%) (Tablehydrocarbons
2, Figure 2). (5.11–13.5%), and sesquit-
erpene hydrocarbons
The (0.21–1.76%)
seasonal variation showed(Table 2, Figure
that most of the2).
main components of these oils reached
their peak concentrations in summer. Eucalyptol was the most abundant component
observed in all samples, and their contents remained relatively constant (from 45.4% to
49.8%) throughout the growing season. Slight changes were observed in the samples
collected in winter and spring-A, with concentrations decreasing by 12–25% (Figure 3).
The concentration of camphor varied from 14.3% in autumn to 8.4% in spring-A (Figure 3).
Linalool, present at a low concentration (from 8.29% to 4.6%), remained relatively constant
from spring-B to spring-A, but increased in summer. The concentration of α-bisabolol was
decreased with the decrease of the temperature (Table 2, Figure 3), and reached its maxi-
mum value in spring-A (25.5%), almost 4 times the value in spring-B. Our results showed
that chemical components of the essential oil of Lavandin may be strongly influenced by
several factors, among which the climatic conditions play a major role.
Molecules 2021, 26, 5639 4 of 8

Table 2. Essential oil composition of Lavandin isolated from fresh flower mass during different seasons.

Relative Content (%)

No. RI Components
Spring-B Autumn Winter Spring-A Summer
1 808 1,3,5-Trioxepane 0.68 0.73 0.63 tr 1.91
2 925 α-pinene 1.15 2.76 1.98 3.87 2.51
3 939 Camphene 0.36 0.60 0.37 0.46 0.44
4 966 β-Pinene 2.82 4.53 3.89 7.33 5.43
5 986 1,2,4,4-Tetramethylcyclopentene tr tr tr 0.12 tr
6 972 1-Octen-3-ol tr tr 0.13 tr 0.23
7 981 2,3-Dehydro-1,8-cineole 0.07 0.24 0.15 tr 0.15
8 985 β-Myrcene 0.18 0.21 0.31 0.61 0.49
9 1004 α-Terpinene 0.09 0.14 0.12 tr 0.13
10 1011 o-Cymol 0.42 0.21 0.15 0.05 0.12
11 1018 Eucalyptol 49.70 49.80 40.47 38.72 45.40
12 1028 trans-πOcimene 0.11 0.22 0.57 0.89 0.56
13 1044 γ-Terpinene 0.19 0.26 0.23 0.19 0.22
14 1052 Terpineol, cis-π tr 0.12 0.20 0.27 0.22
15 1059 cis-Linalool Oxide 0.58 0.31 0.22 tr 0.27
16 1072 Terpinolene 0.08 0.11 tr 0.07 0.14
17 1075 trans-Linalool Oxide 0.65 0.29 0.35 tr tr
18 1091 Linalool 8.29 5.83 6.60 4.61 12.46
19 1111 1,7,7-Tri methylbicyclo[2.2.1]hept-5-en-2-ol 0.48 0.35 0.32 tr 0.17
20 1119 (+)-Nopinone 0.59 0.31 0.27 tr 0.11
21 1121 (E)-Pinocarveol tr tr 0.71 0.31 0.49
22 1126 Camphor 13.64 14.26 14.06 8.41 10.65
23 1128 cis-Verbenol tr tr 0.68 0.15 0.44
24 1143 Sabina ketone 0.13 tr tr tr 0.05
25 1144 Pinocarvone 0.82 0.77 0.53 0.06 0.32
26 1147 Borneol 0.48 0.15 0.52
27 1151 Terpieol 1.35 1.61 1.36 0.36 1.15
28 1160 Terpinen-4-ol 0.91 0.84 0.70 0.09 0.64
29 1167 Crypton tr 0.21 0.31 tr 0.15
30 1176 β-Terpieol 0.97 1.41 1.84 2.21 2.18
31 1178 Myrtenal 1.56 tr 0.76 0.08 0.43
32 1177 Myrtenol tr tr 0.19 tr 0.35
33 1183 Butanoic acid, hexyl ester 0.49 0.26 0.33 tr 0.22
34 1191 Verbenone 0.80 0.34 0.20 tr 0.14
35 1224 Cuminaldehyde 0.27 0.16 0.20 tr 0.08
36 1227 D-Carvone 0.47 0.37 0.34 tr 0.19
37 1272 Bornyl acetate 0.40 0.23 0.29 tr 0.05
38 1332 Cyclobutanecarboxylic acid, hexyl ester 0.13 0.08 0.06 tr 0.07
39 1371 πMuurolene tr tr 0.13 0.15 0.06
40 1378 Geranyl acetate tr 0.06 0.11 tr 0.05
41 1382 Hexanoic acid, hexyl ester 0.15 0.08 0.15 0.08 0.06
42 1400 1-Caryophyllene 0.12 0.08 0.24 0.35 0.12
43 1423 Π-Bergamotene tr 0.06 0.13 0.14 0.06
44 1431 π-Sesquiphellandrene tr 0.06 0.15 0.11 0.05
47 1454 α-Cubebene tr tr 0.34 tr tr
45 1459 trans-p-Mentha-2,8-dienol 0.14 0.28 0.23 tr 0.12
46 1466 πCubebene tr 0.07 0.09 0.30 0.11
48 1488 Helminthogermacrene tr tr tr 0.13 0.06
49 1497 πMuurolene tr 0.15 0.24 tr 0.10
51 1570 Caryophyllene oxide 1.27 0.87 1.11 0.66 0.51
52 1599 Cubenol tr 0.06 0.10 tr tr
53 1609 Farnesene epoxide, E 0.11 0.09 tr tr tr
2,2,7,7-Tetra
54 1612 0.09 0.10 0.11 tr tr
methyltricyclo[6.2.1.0(1,6)]undec-4-en-3-one
55 1630 tau-Cadinol 0.20 0.44 0.67 0.77 0.34
56 1644 (-)-Bisabolol oxide B 1.58 1.70 1.70 1.17 0.71
57 1662 cis-Z-β-Bisabolene epoxide 0.12 tr tr tr tr
58 1673 α-bisabolol 6.62 7.65 12.89 25.53 7.25
59 1728 Santalol, cis, π tr tr tr tr 0.45
60 1743 Lanceol, cis tr tr tr 0.87 tr
Monoterpenes hydrocarbons 5.11 8.94 7.54 13.49 9.97
Oxygenated monoterpenes 81.41 77.28 71.21 55.40 76.85
Sesquiterpenes hydrocarbons 0.21 0.59 1.76 1.27 0.65
Oxygenated sesquiterpenes 10.30 11.14 16.94 29.20 9.45
Total identified 40 56 77 44 64
RI = Retention index (from temperature-programming, using definition of Van Den Dool and Kratz [24]); tr = trace amount (< 0.05%); The
bold values indicate the principal compounds present in oils.
Molecules 2021, 26, x FOR PEER REVIEW 4 of 10
Molecules 2021, 26, 5639 5 of 8

Molecules 2021, 26, x FOR PEER REVIEW 7 of 10

Figure 2. Seasonal variation of main component types and their relative contents in Lavandin
essential oil.
Figure 2. Seasonal variation of main component types and their relative contents in Lavandin es-
sential oil.

The seasonal variation showed that most of the main components of these oils
reached their peak concentrations in summer. Eucalyptol was the most abundant compo-
nent observed in all samples, and their contents remained relatively constant (from 45.4%
to 49.8%) throughout the growing season. Slight changes were observed in the samples
collected in winter and spring-A, with concentrations decreasing by 12–25% (Figure 3).
The concentration of camphor varied from 14.3% in autumn to 8.4% in spring-A (Figure 3).
Linalool, present at a low concentration (from 8.29% to 4.6%), remained relatively constant
from spring-B to spring-A, but increased in summer. The concentration of α-bisabolol was
decreased with the decrease of the temperature (Table 2, Figure 3), and reached its maxi-
mum value in spring-A (25.5%), almost 4 times the value in spring-B. Our results showed
that chemical components of the essential oil of Lavandin may be strongly influenced by
several factors, among which the climatic conditions play a major role.

Table 2. Essential oil composition of Lavandin isolated from fresh flower mass during different seasons.

Relative Content (%)

No. RI Components
Spring-B Autumn Winter Spring-A Summer
1,3,5-Triox-
1 808 Figure3.
Figure Seasonal variation
3.Seasonal variation
0.68 ofof the
the main
main0.73
characteristic
characteristic components
0.63
components and
andrelative
tr contents
relative contentsin1.91
inLavandin
La-
epane
essential oils.
vandin essential oils.
2 925 α-pinene 1.15 2.76 1.98 3.87 2.51
3 939 Comparison with
Camphene
Comparison with
0.36previous reports
previous 0.60 on
reports onessential0.37
essential oilsininLavandula
oils 0.46showed
Lavandula showeda aremarkable
0.44
remarka-
4 966 difference
β-Pinene that seems to
2.82 mostly depend
4.53 on plant species
3.89 and climatic
7.33 or
ble difference that seems to mostly depend on plant species and climatic or soil conditions soil conditions
5.43
at
at the growing
growing locations.
1,2,4,4-Tetra-
the locations. In
Inthe
theessential
essentialoil
oil obtained
obtainedfrom
from different
different pedo-climatic
pedo-climaticareas,areas,
5 986 the main constituents
methylcyclo- of the most studied species, Lavandin, were linalool, linalyl acetate,
the main constituentstrof the most studied
tr tr
species, Lavandin, were0.12
linalool, linalyltracetate,
1,8-cineole (Lavandula × interrnedia ’Budrovka’, Croatia) [25], linalool, linalyl acetate,
andpentene
and 1,8-cineole (Lavandula × interrnedia ’Budrovka’, Croatia) [25], linalool, linalyl acetate,
camphor, and eucalyptol (Lavandula × intermedia Emeric ex Loiseleur, southeast Spain),
6 972 1-Octen-3-ol
camphor, tr (Lavandulatr× intermedia 0.13
and eucalyptol Emeric Western tr
ex Loiseleur, southeast 0.23
Spain),
and [26] 1,8-cineole, borneol, and camphor (L.× intermedia, Iran) [27]. Nevertheless,
2,3-Dehydro-
and [26] 1,8-cineole, borneol, and camphor (L.× intermedia, Western Iran) [27]. Neverthe-
7 981 the main compounds 0.07of Lavandin0.24growing in Kunming
0.15 of Yun-Gui
tr Plateau 0.15
of China,
1,8-cineole
less, the maincamphor,
compounds of Lavandin growing inhad Kunming of Yun-Gui
eucalyptol, linalool, and α-bisabolol, been detected as aPlateau of China,
new chemotype.
eucalyptol,
As mentioned camphor,
above,linalool, and α-bisabolol,
the distribution hadoil
of essential been detected as
chemotypes was a new chemotype.
usually As
concordant
mentioned above, the distribution of essential oil chemotypes was usually concordant
with the bioclimatic zones. In this study, the chemotype of Lavandin might be attributed
to the climatic conditions of the sampling area, as the Lavandin was growing at the highest
altitude (2046 m) and in semiarid conditions. Furthermore, Menary et al. [28] found that
Molecules 2021, 26, 5639 6 of 8

with the bioclimatic zones. In this study, the chemotype of Lavandin might be attributed to
the climatic conditions of the sampling area, as the Lavandin was growing at the highest
altitude (2046 m) and in semiarid conditions. Furthermore, Menary et al. [28] found that
the total yield of oils from lavenders (RB, PC, MS, and JP) generally increased over the
growing season, and linalool, as the main component, tended to increase with later harvest
date, but camphor decreased. The results of this study showed a contrasting change in
concentrations of eucalyptol and α-bisabolol over the different flowering seasons.

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. Collection of Flowers
Lavandin (L. angustifolia Mill. × L. latifolia Medik.) plants were used in this study.
Lavandin cultivars were kindly provided by Dr. Huang (Institute of Urban Environment,
Xiamen, China). The inflorescence of Lavandin were collected periodically during the
flowering stages in spring (May), summer (August), autumn (October), and winter (Decem-
ber) in order to cover all the different seasons. Lavandin plants were grown at Kunming,
Yun-Gui Plateau of China, 25.04◦ N, 102.73◦ E, altitude 2046 m, with a plateau monsoon
climate and intense ultraviolet radiation, where the daily average value of ultraviolet
radiation is 30–59 W/m2 . The mean annual temperature is 16.0–16.3 ◦ C and mean annual
precipitation is 802 mm. In summer, temperature varies from 20.5 to 20.8 ◦ C, while in
winter, it varies from 9.5 to 13.1 ◦ C. Fresh flowers were separated from the stem and only
flowers were used for the extraction of essential oils.

3.2. Sample Preparation

Oils were extracted from the fresh flowers of Lavandin using a Clevenger-type appa-
ratus. A total of 50 g of fresh flower samples and 600 mL of ultrapure water were used,
and the hydro-distillation was carried out for 90 min. The procedure was performed
in duplicate for different seasons’ samples. Yield of the essential oil was expressed as
the mean of two determinations in percentage (V/m). The oil obtained was dried over
anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered, and stored in sealed amber glass vials in a freezer at
4 ◦ C for further analyses.

3.3. GC-MS Analysis

The chemical compositions of the extracted oils were analyzed using GC-MS (AG-
ILENT 7890 GC/CMSD 5975) (Agilent, Palo Alto, CA, USA), equipped with a capillary
column of HP 5MS (30 m × 250 µm, 0.25 µm film thickness) (Agilent, Santa Clara, CA,
USA) and a 70 eV EI Quadrupole detector (Agilent, Santa Clara, CA, USA). Helium was
the carrier gas, at a flow rate of 40 mL/min. Injector and ion temperatures were 250 and
230 ◦ C, respectively. The column temperature was initially held at 45 ◦ C for 10 min, then
increased by 3 ◦ C/min to 70 ◦ C, and from 70 to 95 ◦ C at 1 ◦ C/min, and increased to 135 ◦ C
at a rate of 8 ◦ C/min, and finally increased to 230 ◦ C at 5 ◦ C/min. Diluted samples (1:50
v/v, in ethylether) of 1.0 µL were injected using a splitless inlet auto sampler. Electron
ionization mass spectra were acquired over the mass range 20–500 amu.

3.4. Qualitative Analyses

Identifications of components were based on the comparison of retention indices
relative to (C8 –C20 ) n-alkanes with those of the literature and/or with those in close
agreement with Reference [29], and further identification was mass spectra of those stored
in the spectrometer database using the NIST libraries. All the compounds are expressed in
peak area percentage.

3.5. Statistical Analysis

The data and plots were analyzed using Origin 2021 (OriginLab, Northampton, MA,
USA) and SPSS 23.0 (IBM Corp., Chicago, IL, USA). Yields of essential oils were expressed
as means ± standard deviation. Differences were tested with analysis of variance (ANOVA),
Molecules 2021, 26, 5639 7 of 8

using the post-test of Student–Newman–Keuls to compare two means. The relationships

between yields of the essential oil and climate factors were examined using the non-
parametric Pearson’s rank correlation method. All statistical analyses were tested at the
0.05 level of probability.

4. Conclusions
Lavandin oil is a popular essential oil which is widely used for many purposes. In the
present study, we aimed to create a L. angustifolia variety as a cash crop which flowered
in the field in all four seasons in the Yun-Gui Plateau. The new chemotype of Lavandin
has been studied in China as a source of eucalyptol, linalool, camphor, and α-bisabolol,
and which is dominated by oxygenated monoterpenes and oxygenated sesquiterpenes.
Moreover, the yields and the main components of essential oils reached the peak production
during summer when temperature and precipitation were highest, and seasonal variation
in production of eucalyptol and α-bisabolol followed opposite trends. Therefore, the
seasonal variation has a great importance in the production of essential oil and influences
the quantity and quality of essential oil. This study provides a valid foundation for
assessing the quality of Lavandin oil and potential industrial applications. Further study is
needed to investigate the effects of growing habitats on the yield, chemical compositions,
and antibacterial activity of the essential oil of Lavandin collected in different seasons.

Supplementary Materials: The following are available online, Figure S1. GC-MS patterns of La-
vandin essential oil from spring-B. Figure S2. GC-MS patterns of Lavandin essential oil from
autumn. Figure S3. GC-MS patterns of Lavandin essential oil from winter. Figure S4. GC-MS
patterns of Lavandin essential oil from spring-A. Figure S5. GC-MS patterns of Lavandin essential oil
from summer.
Author Contributions: Conceptualization, Z.L. and Q.H.; data calculation and formal analysis,
Z.L., Q.H. and Q.C.; funding acquisition, Q.H.; investigation, Z.L.; methodology, Z.L.; project
administration, Q.H.; resources, Q.H.; software, Z.L. and Q.C.; supervision, Q.H.; validation, S.K.
and X.Y.; visualization, Q.H. and X.Y.; writing—original draft, Z.L.; writing—review and editing, Z.L.
All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41571288),
Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Deployment Project (KZZD-EW-16-02), National Science and
Technology Support Program of China (2014BAD14B04), and Fujian Provincial Department of Science
and Technology Project (2015Y0084).
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.
Acknowledgments: We gratefully thank Dandan Zhang for her assistance with testing of the essential
oil samples, and the Rothamsted Research David Powlson for reading and modifying the manuscript.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Sample Availability: The samples of the compounds are not available from the authors.

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