Altitudinal variation of secondary metabolite profiles in flowering heads of Matricaria chamomilla cv. BONA.

The altitudinal variation of the contents of secondary metabolites in flowering heads of Matricaria chamomilla L. (Asteraceae) was assessed. Plants of M. chamomilla cultivar BONA were grown in nine experimental plots at altitudes between 590 and 2,230 m at Mount Patscherkofel near Innsbruck/Austria. The amounts of flavonoids and phenolic acids were quantified by HPLC/DAD. For both flavonoids and phenolic acids positive (r = 0.559 and 0.587) and statistically significant (both p < 0.001) correlations with the altitude of the growing site were observed. The results are compared to previous results on Arnica montana L. cv. ARBO. Moreover, various ecological factors, which change with the altitude of the growing site, are discussed as potential causes for the observed variation.