The chemical composition of essential oil of Thymus serpyllum L. collected in natural habitats in different regions of Northern Kazakhstan in the first ten-day period of July of 2013 in a stage of full blooming was analyzed. The yield of oil from an epigeal portion in a stage of blossoming formed 0.4-1.4 %. The main components of oil were thymol (5.11-58.25 %), carvacrol (1.22-55.85 %), p-cymene (1.28-25.46 %), γ-terpinene (1.37-16.52 %) and α-terpinene (0.84-1.94 %) out of total twenty-one identified compounds. One of eight specimens was also revealed, in essential oil of which there were synthesized the following components: trans-geraniol (55.93 %), lavandulyl acetate (28.51 %), nerol (2.76 %) and E-citral(2.58 %).

Euonymus verrucosus Scop. (Celastraceae) is a boreal European-Mediterranean-Asia Minor forest relict species and is listed in the Red Data Books of Kazakhstan and some regions of the Russian Federation. Thus, in the present study, in vitro regeneration of E. verrucosus utilizing young shoot explants was attempted for the first time. Initially, the young shoots (0.8–1.0 cm length) were placed in woody plant medium (WPM) and Murashige and Skoog’s (MS) medium fortified with different concentrations of cytokinins, such as 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), kinetin (Kn) and thidiazuron (TDZ), to induce axillary buds. The optimum induction was 75.0 ± 2.9% and the apical growth was 3.74 ± 0.06 cm for young shoots after 4 weeks in WPM medium supplemented with BAP (1.0 mg L⁻¹). Simultaneously, during the formation of axillary shoots, callus induction was observed at the nodal base. Subculturing this callus on fresh medium every 4 weeks generated total six adventitious shoots with 0.70 ± 0.02 cm length after 12 weeks in the presence of BAP (1.0 mg L⁻¹). When the adventitious shoots were isolated and transferred again to WPM medium containing 2.0 mg L⁻¹ Kn, 2.95 ± 0.16 shoots were formed with 51.2% regeneration frequency within 4 weeks. These microshoots were then rooted ex vitro and an optimum 73.3% rooting was achieved within 4 weeks in a substrate highbog peat with a 0.5 cm layer of vermiculite. This micropropagation protocol will be helpful for the conservation of the genetic resources and biodiversity for E. verrucosus.

The aim of the study was to investigate volatile compounds from the aerial parts of Dianthus acicularis of the genus Dianthus of the family Caryophyllaceae grown wild in Northern Kazakhstan for the first time. D. acicularis is a typical Trans-Volga-Kazakhstani endemic. D. acicularis has high resistance to the bacterial wilt, a serious disease caused by Burkholderia caryophylli. The qualitative and quantitative compositions of the specimens of the essential oils were analysed by the method of GC–MS. The main constituents of D. acicularis essential oil were methyl ketones - 2-pentadecanone (26.9–32.2%) and 2-tridecanone (4.7–17.7%), identified for the first time in the Dianthus genus. The methyl ketone activity provides protection of the plants from herbivores and fungal pathogens. One can suppose that the presence of 2-pentadecanone and 2-tridecanone in the essential oil of carnation coniferous provides its resistance to different insects and pathogens, including the resistance to the bacterial wilt.