Ecological Variability of L-Ascorbic Acid in “Primula Taxa” from Postavaru Mountain

Abstract

L-Ascorbic acid (C vitamin) is currently used for many purposes, especially in the pharmaceutical industry. There are important plant resources for this substance around the world, in fruits or leaves. For example, in Romania, “Primula folium” (leaves from Primula sp.) is used in ethnopharmacology. The present study aims to identify potential relations between different local climatic factors (such as air temperature and humidity, wind speed) and C vitamin content in “Primulae folium”. The performed case study emphasized a contribution of the meteorological variables to the C vitamin content in Primula sp. up to 22-58%, whose maximum values were located around the middle of May and in the interval between 14⁰⁰-16⁰⁰.