## 3 Discussion
found that, after three months of storage, the relative percentage of myristic acid falls from 87.50% to 77.39% [41]. As already mentioned, orris oil, the EO of _Iris_ species used for commercial purposes and which is usually obtained from rhizomes by steam distillation, is a cream-colored solid that is rich in myristic acid and other fatty acids [34]. It can be used as such or further processed to eliminate fatty acids [4]. Tetradecanoic acid was also found to be a significant component of EO obtained through microdistillation from rhizomes of _I. kernieriana_ [PERSON] and Sint. ex Dykes [20]. Its presence was also confirmed in EO of _I. pallasii_ Fisch. ex Trev. seeds, but in a much lower percentage than in our study (0.08-1.12%) [45]. On the contrary, the same study revealed the presence of linoleic acid ((_Z,Z_)-octadeca-9,12-dienoic acid), which was detected in higher percentages (50.36-65.35%) than in the _I. adriatica_ EO investigated in the present study. Other studies have also reported the presence of (_Z,Z_)-octadeca-9,12-dienoic acid in some _Iris_ species, such as _I. lacte_ [PERSON]. seed oil (41.31%) [46], leaf extracts of _I. germanica, I. pallida, I. variegata L., and _I. lungarica_ [PERSON] and [PERSON] (1.8-7.2%) [47] and the rhizome extract of _I. carthalmiae_ [PERSON] (6.05%) [48]. Hexadecanoic acid was also found in _I. planifolia_ (Mill.) [PERSON] and [PERSON] whole-plant EO [49], but in a lower percentage compared to the ones found in our study (18.50%). Other studies have also reported the presence of fatty acids in _Iris_ EOs extracted by steam distillation, such as myristic, lauric, and capric acid, that were found in the EOs extracted from the rhizomes of _I. pallida_[42], along with a substantial amount of capric acid in _I. carthalmiae_ rhizome EO [43]. Fatty acids such as myristic, lauric, and palmitic are important ingredients in cosmetic preparations, where they serve as emulsifiers, softeners, cleansers, or brighteners. Fatty acids, together with ceramides and cholesterol, are key intercellular lipid components of stratum corneum. As such, long-chain fatty acids are especially important for the maintenance of normal skin-barrier function, resistance against the entry of harmful chemicals, and the prevention of excessive transpidermal water loss (TEWL) [50]. It was suggested that, in the EOs of _I. pallida_ and _I. germanica_, more than 90% of the GC-eluted pool may be accounted for by just seven compounds, including around 85% of myristic acid (and lauric acid) and 6-14% of irones, mainly the _cis-\(\alpha\)-_ and _cis-\(\gamma\)_-irones [3]. The same irone isomers were detected as the major irones in our study. The content of _cis-\(\alpha\)_-irone established in _I. pseudopallida_ D after HD was much higher (24.70%) than that reported above for _I. pallida_ and _I. germanica_ EOs, while the contents of _cis-\(\gamma\)_-irone found in the remaining two _I. pseudopallida_ EOs were similar (4.48-8.43%) to those reported [3]. The contents of _cis-\(\alpha\)_-irone observed in the present study were higher than the 2.71% reported for the EO extracted from _I. germanica_ Thunb. leaves obtained by steam distillation [44]. Although irones are recognized as the most valuable components of orris oil [34], it is important to note that these compounds are not present in the original plant material (fresh _Iris_ rhizomes), but they develop during its drying and storage. As rhizomes age,oxidative degradation of their precursors (iridals) results in the formation of irones [24], the compounds that give the characteristic violet-like fragrance to iris rhizome EOs [3]. Our results are in agreement with this, keeping in mind that _I. pseudopallida_ D, which was the first collected and, therefore, the oldest analyzed sample of the named taxon, possessed a much greater amount of irones compared to the other sample of the same taxon collected about 20 days later (Table 4).