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Lavender and hyssop productivity, oil content, and bioactivity as a function of harvest time and drying
Abstract
Field and laboratory experiments were conducted to evaluate the productivity and essential oil composition of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia Mill.) and hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis L.) as functions of year, harvest time, and drying. Lavender essential oil content ranged from 0.71 to 1.3% (overall average of 0.89%) and hyssop oil content ranged from 0.13 to 0.26% (overall average of 0.19%). Lavender and hyssop essential oil yields increased with time. Hyssop oil yields varied from 7.3 kg ha−1 to 19.6 kg ha−1, and lavender oil yields varied from 7.8 kg ha−1 to 55.5 kg ha−1. The major constituents of lavender oil were linalool (23.3–43.4%) and linalylacetate (20.2–39.6%), while the major constituents of hyssop oil were pinocamphene + isopinocamphene (57–75%) and β-pinene (5–15%). Lavender oil extracted from dry material had higher concentrations of linalyl acetate and caryophyllene but lower concentrations of myrcene than the oil from the fresh material. Delayed harvest of hyssop increased the concentrations of β-pinene, myrcene, and limonene + cineole but reduced pinocamphone + isopinocamphone. The chemical composition of the lavender and hyssop oil produced in Mississippi was similar to commercial oils from Bulgaria, Canada, France, and US. Lavender and hyssop can be established as essential oil crops in areas of the southeastern United States. Lavender and hyssop essential oils did not show significant antimicrobial, antileishmanial, antimalarial activity, and did not alter ruminal fermentation. However, commercial oil from L. latifolia reduced methane production in an in vitro digestibility study. The antioxidant activity of hyssop essential oil was 2039 μmol of TE L−1, whereas the antioxidant activity of lavender essential oil was 328 μmol of TE L−1.
... The latter compounds weaken the EO quality used in perfume and aromatherapy [33]. Plant developmental stages and biotic factors regulate the biosynthesis of monoterpenes and display important physiological and ecological roles in Lavandula plants [6,34,35]. ...
... The latter compounds weaken the EO quality used in perfume and aromatherapy [33]. Plant developmental stages and biotic factors regulate the biosynthesis of monoterpenes and display important physiological and ecological roles in Lavandula plants [6,34,35]. ...
... EO accumulation in flowers of Grosso lavandin increases and reaches a maximum at 30% of anthesis, followed by a gradual drop towards senescence [51]. The harvest time considerably affects lavender's production and EO composition parameters [13,35,41]. The optimum harvesting stage to achieve the maximum lavender EO content is at 60% blooming [41,52,53]. ...
\Background/Objectives The plants of the Lavandula genus are widely investigated because of their significance for pharmaceuticals and food. The composition of lavender essential oil is determined by genotype and can be induced by environmental , ontogenetic factors, and morphogenetic features. Linalool and linalyl acetate are the most abundant compounds, performing essential ecological functions and participating in lavender's therapeutic properties. This review reports on the biosynthesis of lavender oil compounds and summarises the environmental, developmental, and molecular factors contributing to essential oil composition in lavender flowers. Results Floral developmental stage and ontogeny are fundamental for optimal harvest time. The harvesting period for high-quality lavender essential oil is affected by environmental and developmental factors that influence the gene expression of monoterpene biosynthesis. Conclusions These findings indicate the appropriate features for high-quality lavender essential oil and contribute to information that may allow for the manipulation of monoterpenes biosynthesis in lavender breeding efforts.
... Ranges for these compounds vary depending on cultivation process (spontaneous vs. clonal), cultivar, and country of origin (14). Other factors that influence the volatile profile and aroma of lavender essential oil include the developmental stage of the flower (15), environmental conditions (15), processing and storage conditions of the plant material (16)(17)(18), plant parts used in distillation (19), and the distillation or extraction technique employed (20)(21)(22)(23). Notwithstanding, the lavender ISO standard, as well as the ISO standards for lavandin Grosso and spike lavender (24,25), are reliable reference points when considering both the quality and authenticity of lavender and Lavandula spp. ...
... Optical rotation values were outside the respective ISO lavender ranges for 58% of the commercial lavender samples (samples 1, [3][4][5][9][10][11], for a single authentic lavender sample (sample 15), for all four lavandin samples (samples 45-48), and the ho wood sample (sample 58). Refractive index values were outside the respective ISO lavender ranges for 42% of commercial samples (samples 1, 5, 9-11) and 7% of authentic lavender samples (samples 14,16,22). Only four samples (samples 5,[9][10][11] failed to meet the respective ISO lavender ranges for all three physical property tests, three of which samples were adulterated with carrier oils or other diluents ( Table 2). ...
Authentic Lavandula angustifolia (lavender) essential oil samples (n = 41) were procured from six producing countries. Essential oils were analyzed to determine physical properties and to determine profiles and related data by GC/MS, GC/FID, enantioselective GC, and GC/IRMS. The current study identified 43 volatile compounds that were detected in all authentic lavender samples (n = 41), and which can be considered authentic markers. Enantiomeric ranges for 15 volatile compounds and stable isotope ranges for four prominent compounds were determined in authentic lavender. Authentic samples and associated data were used to assess the quality of commercially available lavender essential oil samples (n = 12). 75% of the commercial samples studied were adulterated, and 17 volatile compounds were detected in these samples which can be considered markers for adulteration. This study establishes the utility and importance of using a multifaceted analytical approach to differentiate quality and determine authenticity of lavender essential oil.
... However, studies conducted to date regarding its antimicrobial activity have not yielded conclusive results. Some authors report that lavender essential oils do not show much antimicrobial activity [13], while others show bactericidal activity even against some antibiotic-resistant microorganisms [8,14]. These discrepant results may be due to the variability in essential oil composition [12,[15][16][17][18]. Potent antimicrobial and antifungal effects have been attributed to linalool and linalyl acetate [19]. ...
... oils are due to the properties of their many components. Therefore, the varying results of the antibacterial and antifungal activity of the essential oil depend on many factors that affect its composition, e.g., the technology of growing, harvesting, and drying, and even the method of oil distillation [1,[11][12][13]16,17,[20][21][22][23][24]. However, the factors that most influence oil composition and antimicrobial activities are genetic variation and growing conditions [8,11,16,20,25,26]. ...
The antimicrobial properties of essential oil from Lavandula sp. raise hopes related to its use in phytotherapy. This study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of essential oils from cultivars of L. angustifolia (‘Hidcote Blue Strain’, ‘Hidcote Blue’) and L. × intermedia (‘Phenomenal’, ‘Grosso’) grown in central-eastern Poland, that is, at the border of the northern lavender cultivation range. The chemical composition of the essential oils was determined by GC/MS. Essential oil concentrations (20, 10, 5, 2.5, 1.25, 0.6, 0.3, 0.16, 0.08, and 0.04 mg/mL) were tested to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) or minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) towards ten strains of Gram-positive bacteria, five Gram-negative bacteria, and eight yeasts in vitro culture. Essential oils from the Lavendula cultivars showed antimicrobial activity against all microorganisms analysed. The yeasts were characterised by higher sensitivity to lavender oil compared to bacteria, while Gram-positive bacteria were more sensitive than Gram-negative bacteria. The lowest MIC values for bacteria and fungi were obtained for ‘Grosso’. Furthermore, the ‘Grosso’ oil showed the highest fungicidal activity, while the highest bactericidal activity was found in ‘Hidcote Blue’ and ‘Grosso’. Using Staphylococcus aureus as an example, it was shown that different bacterial strains of the same species show varying sensitivity to the essential oil. A higher oil content was noted for the cultivars L. × intermedia, especially for the ‘Phenomenal’. Linalyl acetate and linalool were the main components of the essential oil in all cultivars. However, in the ‘Grosso’ oil, a high content of terpinen-4-ol (18.08%) was also recorded. An analysis of the relationships between the content of the main components in the analysed essential oils and the antimicrobial activity of essential oils suggested that linalool and terpinen-4-ol were compounds potentially responsible for antimicrobial activity. The obtained results allow us to conclude that essential oil with significant antimicrobial activity can be obtained from Lavandula sp. plants harvested in the northern part of the cultivation range.
... The authors found the main component of white hyssop was pinocamphone (51%) but pink hyssop contained equal amounts of pinocamphone (28.8%) and isopinocamphone (21.9%). The main constituents of H. officinalis essential oil were identified as pinocamphone, iso-pinocamphone, pinene, pinocarvone (Kizil et al., 2010, Fatemeh and Hamedeyazdan, 2011, Zheljazkov et al., 2012, Pandey et al., 2014, Said-Al Ahl et al., 2015and Hristova et al., 2015, Saeidi et al., 2020, Aćimović et al., 2021, Saebi et al., 2021and Jop et al., 2021. Venditti et al., (2015) detected linalool (35.3-51.2%) ...
... Application with 5 and 10 µl of essential oil exhibited strong antimicrobial activity against S. pyogenes, S. aureus, C. albicans and E. coli, but not against P. aeruginosa. On the other hand, Zheljazkov et al., (2012) reported that H. officinalis essential oil did not show significant effect as antimicrobial and anti-malarial activity against pathogens. ...
This article reports on the main constituents of Hyssopus officinalis and Perilla frutescens essential oils (EOs) and their activity as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti inflammatory and anticancer. The major component of H. officinalis essential oil was isopinocamphone followed by pinocamphone, β-pinene, β-phellandrene, α-thujene and bicyclo-germacrene. The main constituent of the essential oil of P. frutescens was identified as L-perillaldehyde followed by trans-caryophyllene and D-limonene. Both essential oils (hyssop and perilla) showed antioxidant activities with the used three methods and the increase of activity was concentration dependent up to 32μg/ml comparing to ascorbic acid. The values of IC50 for DPPH radical scavenging were in the order of P. frutescens< ascorbic acid< H. officinalis. The values of IC50 for FIC method were in the order of ascorbic acid< P. frutescens< H. officinalis. The IC50 for ABTS method was 8μg for P. frutescence and the values were in the order as ascorbic acid< H. officinalis< P. frutescence. The essential oil of both plant species showed variable activities against all the tested bacterial. The results displayed also that the essential oil of P. frutescens showed significant fungal inhibitions against the four tested Candida strains.
... Eldeghedy [15] identified the main constituents of L. angustifolia EO cultivated in Egypt as tau-cadinol (28.63%), eucalyptol (17.21%) and 1-borneol (12.01%) which agreed with Jianu [13] . In the contrast of these results [5,6,[8][9][10][11][12]17] , linalool and linalyl acetate were detected as the major constituents of lavender EO. As shown in Table (1), twenty-nine compounds that represented a total of 99.27% have been identified from essential of Lavandula hybrida. ...
... In this study, DMSO was used as control while, doxorubicin was used as the positive control. The results of the applied essential oils are shown in Table (6).One hundred ppm (100µg/ml) of all studied essential oils were tested for the ability to inhibit the growth of the used 6 cancer cell lines (PC3, PACA2, A431, A549, MCF7, and HCT116) as well as on normal skin fibroblast cell line (BJ1). The essential oil of L. hybrida was more potent than L. angustifolia. ...
... Many researchers determined that the essential oil in fresh stem flower of lavender varied among 0.71-1.3% (Zheljazkov et al., 2012), 0.5-0.8% (Tanker and Tanker, 1990), 1.3-3.1% (Ceylan et al., 1988) and 0.5-1.0% ...
... Generally, linalool, linalyl acetate, terpinen-4-ol and camphor rate of dry stemless flower in all of the lavender cultivars was higher than that of fresh stem flowers. Zheljazkov et al. (2012) stated that linalyl acetate in dry stemless flower was higher than fresh stem flowers. ...
In Isparta, lavender is cultivated on an area of 250 hectares. The lavender plants are often used as lavender oil and lavender buds by drying a small amount too. The research was carried out at the Field Crops Laboratory of Agriculture Faculty of Suleyman Demirel University in 2011. The study was conducted with the aim to determine essential oil and its composition in fresh stem flower and dry stemless flower of lavender and lavandin cultivars. Essential oil was obtained by steam distillation method. Composition of essential oil was identified with GC/MS. Statistically significant differences (P≤ 0.01) were observed between both the fresh stem flower and dry stemless flower essential oils of lavender and lavandin cultivars. The highest essential oil rate in both fresh stem flower and dry stemless flower was obtained from L. angustifolia var. Silver (1.72 and 7.50%, respectively), the lowest essential oil rate from L. angustifolia var. Munstead (0.13 and 0.67%, respectively) lavender cultivars. Linalool, linalyl acetate, sabinene, cimene, terpineol-4-ol and camphor in essential oils of lavender and lavandin cultivars were determined as the main components. Essential oil components rate in fresh stem flower and dry stemless flower of lavender cultivars ranged from linalool 25.3 and 43.0%, 25.5 and 42.1%, linalyl acetate 3.6 and 37.4%, 8.0 and 47.2%, camphor 0 and 9.8%, 0 and 11.4%, sabinene 1.6 and 19.4%, 3.0 and 15.8%, cimene 2.7 and 11.0%, 1.9 and 8.5% and terpeneol-4-ol 0.6 and 12.9%, 0 and 13.8%, respectively.
... Ranges for said compounds vary due to both geographic location and lavender cultivar [17,[22][23][24]. Many other factors have also been shown to influence the yield and volatile profile of lavender essential oil, including the developmental stage of the flower [25], weather conditions [25], time of harvest [26], drying and storing conditions of plant material [26][27][28], distillation time [29], and the distillation or extraction technique employed [30][31][32][33]. ...
... Ranges for said compounds vary due to both geographic location and lavender cultivar [17,[22][23][24]. Many other factors have also been shown to influence the yield and volatile profile of lavender essential oil, including the developmental stage of the flower [25], weather conditions [25], time of harvest [26], drying and storing conditions of plant material [26][27][28], distillation time [29], and the distillation or extraction technique employed [30][31][32][33]. ...
Lavandula angustifolia Mill. (lavender) is an essential-oil-bearing plant in the Lamiaceae family. Volatile oil produced through the steam distillation of lavender was examined to establish the essential oil yield and aromatic profile from each portion of the plant—namely, the corolla, calyx, leaf, and whole flowering top. The resulting essential oils were analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. The different plant parts generally shared similar compounds but in varying relative percentages. Aromatic profiles of the whole flowering top and calyx were similar, with prominent compounds being linalool acetate (34.3%, 32.0%), linalool (26.5%, 32.9%), lavandulyl acetate (5.6%, 4.9%), terpinen-4-ol (5.3%, 7.0%), and (Z)-β-ocimene (4.5%, 5.4%), respectively. Aromatic profiles for the corolla and leaf were unique. Prominent aromatic compounds of the corolla included linalool acetate (18.4%), linalool (10.8%), epi-α-cadinol (10.0%), borneol (7.3%), and lavandulyl acetate (6.3%). Prominent aromatic compounds of the leaf included epi-α-cadinol (19.8%), γ-cadinene (11.0%), borneol (6.0%), caryophyllene oxide (4.9%), and bornyl acetate (4.8%). Complete profiles and essential oil yields of corolla, calyx, leaf, and whole flowering top were established. This study establishes the influence the corolla, calyx, and leaf exert on the aromatic profile of the whole flowering top and provides insight into authentication of lavender essential oil.
... Scientific data concerning the effect of ontogenesis and developmental phases on EO properties of lavender are relatively scarce. According to the results presented by Hassiotis et al. (2010Hassiotis et al. ( , 2014 and Zheljazkov et al. (2012), harvest times have a considerable effect on the quantity and the quality parameters of the EO of lavender species. Other authors demonstrated that in order to reach the highest EO content, the optimal harvest time is during the full blooming period, (Lammerink et al., 1989;Cantor et al., 2018). ...
... Obviously, the climate of the cultivation area affects the quantity and the quality of lavender EO (e.g. Hassiotis et al., 2010Hassiotis et al., , 2014Zheljazkov et al., 2012). In previous studies, a negative correlation was proven in hyssop between EO accumulation and the amount of precipitation (Németh et al., 2001). ...
The goal of the study was to detect quantitative and qualitative changes of the volatile accumulation of lavender flowers during their development. Four Lavandula angustifolia and three Lavandula × intermedia cultivars were studied in a field trial during 2018 and 2019 in Budapest, Hungary. Samples were collected in three flowering phases (bud, full bloom, and end of flowering) in three replicates. Essential oil content was determined by hydrodistillation (Clevenger apparatus) and the composition by GC–MS analyses based on retention indices and MS libraries. The highest essential oil content was detected at the end of flowering phenophase in L. angustifolia cultivars for both years, while for L. × intermedia varieties, it was different in each year of the experiment. The amount of precipitation occurring prior to the sampling may play an important role in this issue.
For the majority of the cultivars, the highest linalool percentages are obtained by harvesting at the end of flowering phase. The highest ratio of linalyl acetate was measured in most of the samples at the full bloom phase. The proportions of camphor and borneol showed significant but varying tendencies depending on both variety and year. The values of linalool, trans-β-ocimene, terpinene-4-ol, α-terpineol, and lavandulol percentages increased significantly during flower development, while the proportion of 1,8-cineole, and caryophyllene-oxide decreased in three cultivars. Altogether, the effect of phenophase on the essential oil composition was remarkable, especially in ‘Budakalászi’ (L. angustifolia), and ‘Grappenhall’ (L. × intermedia) cultivars, while ‘Munstead’ (L. angustifolia) exhibited the most stable essential oil pattern.
... The oil yields observed in this study fall within the wide range of values previously documented in lavender cultivation across diverse ecological and management contexts. For instance, Zheljazkov et al. [49] documented lavender oil yields reaching up to 5.5 kg da −1 , reflecting significant variability due to environmental and management factors. Minev et al. [50] similarly found substantial variations in lavender oil yields, from 5.9 kg da −1 to as high as 18.3 kg da −1 under optimal cultivation practices. ...
Irrigation optimization is critical for sustainable agriculture in water-scarce regions, particularly for drought-tolerant crops like lavender (Lavandula angustifolia Mill.), where strategic water management can enhance productivity. This study evaluated the impact of different irrigation regimes on yield, yield components, essential oil content, water productivity, and irrigation water productivity of drip-irrigated lavender under the semi-arid conditions of Niğde, Turkey, over five growing seasons (2020–2024). Treatments included full irrigation (T1), moderate deficit irrigation (T2, 33% water deficit), severe deficit irrigation (T3, 66% water deficit), and rainfed conditions (T4). Results demonstrated that T2 achieved fresh yields (144–227 kg da⁻¹) and oil yields (2.7–6.9 kg da⁻¹) comparable to T1, with crop water consumption ranging 781.5–923.6 mm. Rainfed conditions significantly reduced yields but maximized water productivity, highlighting the potential for efficient water use even under substantial water deficits. Essential oil content remained stable (1.88–3.04%) across treatments, except in 2022 (p < 0.05). Lavender exhibited low drought sensitivity, with a yield response factor (ky) of 0.25, indicating adaptability to controlled water deficits. Regression analyses revealed significant positive linear relationships between crop water consumption and fresh yield. Overall, the findings emphasize that improving water productivity through moderate-to-severe deficit irrigation strategies can support sustainable lavender production under semi-arid conditions, even when absolute yields are partially compromised. Results indicated that T2 is recommended for optimizing water productivity with minimal yield reduction. However, in water-limited regions, T3 provided viable productivity, offering a suitable balance for sustainable lavender production in semi-arid climates.
... In temperate regions, low temperatures are the main limiting factor in lavender propagation; therefore, the main breeding direction in these regions is now increasing the winter hardiness and frost resistance of lavender. Even though Lavandula angustifolia is one of the most frost-tolerant species, and its ecological optimum is in climates with warm sunny summers but cold winters [21], the region of its industrial use is concentrated in southern Europe, Mediterranean countries, southern Russia and Ukraine [27][28][29] In one study, the most resistant varieties of Lavandula angustifolia for the conditions of the forest-steppe zone of Ukraine were identified [30]; however, their stability was insufficient for cultivation in the conditions of the Central region of Russia. ...
Lavandula angustifolia is a promising essential oil and ornamental crop whose distribution in the temperate zone and northern regions is limited by its low winter hardiness. Analyzing the causes of low winter hardiness will facilitate the selection of the most winter-hardy hybrids. The study goal is to evaluate the climatic conditions and winter hardiness of narrow-leaved lavender and to determine critical conditions for the successful overwintering of plants in the conditions of Moscow. The studies were conducted in the laboratory of cultivated plants of MBG RAS from 2015 to 2022. The research objects were 72 lavender hybrids. The assessment of hybrids’ winter hardiness was carried out after complete snow melt. Average daily temperature, snow cover height, and precipitation were considered daily. Data statistical processing was carried out using Microsoft Excel and PAST 4.5 software. Optimal lavender overwintering conditions were formed in 2018 and the greatest plant damage was observed in 2017. The research years were grouped by winter hardiness structured into clusters, which allowed us to identify common features in climatic conditions and to identify critical periods of the winter period leading to a decrease in winter hardiness. Temperature fluctuations in winter, frequent temperature transitions over the 0 °C mark, high levels of snow cover and the formation of ice deposits led to severe damage to some lavender hybrids. Severe frosts in the absence of snow cover can lead to the death of lavender plants in the temperate zone. Lavender hybrids were grouped by winter hardiness into two clusters and 11 subclusters. A group of hybrids with consistently high resistance has been selected throughout the years of the study; these hybrids are the most promising for further hybridization.
... In addition, Zheljazkov et al. [63] conducted a study to evaluate the composition of LEO extracted by SD from fresh and dried plants. Aliquots of 500 g fresh or 250 g of dried lavender flowers were added to 2 L of water and the EOs were extracted for 60 min. ...
Lavender is one of the most appreciated aromatic plants, with high economic value in food, cosmetics, perfumery, and pharmaceutical industries. Lavender essential oil (LEO) is known to have demonstrative antimicrobial, antioxidant, therapeutic, flavor and fragrance properties. Conventional extraction methods, e.g., steam distillation (SD) and hydro-distillation (HD), have been traditionally employed to extract LEO. However, the low yield, high energy consumption, and long extraction time of conventional methods have prompted the introduction of novel extraction technologies. Some of these innovative approaches, such as ohmic-assisted, microwave-assisted, supercritical fluid, and subcritical water extraction approaches, are used as substitutes to conventional extraction methods. While other methods, e.g., sonication, pulsed electric field, and cold plasma, can be used as a pre-treatment that is preceded by conventional or emerging extraction technologies. These innovative approaches have a great significance in reducing the energy consumption, shortening the extraction time, and increasing the extraction yield and the quality of EOs. Therefore, they can be considered as sustainable extraction technologies. However, the scale-up of emerging technologies to an industrial level should also be investigated from the techno-economic points of view in future studies.
... Notably, the changes in the EO composition found in the literature were mainly attributed to the genetics of the plants and differences in their climatic, seasonal, and geographical conditions [34]. The results obtained in the present study agreed with those reported in the literature, with linalool, linalyl acetate, fenchone, eucalyptol, and borneol found to be the major LEO components [34][35][36][37][38]. Table 1. ...
Simple Summary
The increasing demand for livestock production with a more sustainable approach to reduce greenhouse emissions offers the opportunity to test essential oils (EOs), as natural treatments, for their effect on rumen activity, as well as the use of antibiotics, for their antimicrobial activities. However, little information is available on the effects of EOs on the proliferative immune response and cytokine production. Therefore, the present paper is aimed at evaluating the effect of the Mentha x piperita L., Rosmarinus officinalis L., and Lavandula angustifolia L. EOs on sheep peripheral blood monocular cells’ bio-response in terms of viability, proliferation, and cytokine secretion. The main results obtained encourage the implementation of these EOs as feed additives, in in vivo studies, to improve the animals’ immune competence, especially those under specific physiological or environmental stressors.
Abstract
Recently, the uses of essential oils (EOs) as rumen modifiers, anti-inflammatory agents, and antioxidants were demonstrated in livestock. In the present study, the role of Mentha x piperita L. (MEO), Rosmarinus officinalis L. (REO), and Lavandula angustifolia L. (LEO) EOs in an in vitro sheep model of inflammation was investigated. With this aim, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were treated with incremental concentrations (3, 5, 7, and 10%) of each EO to test their effects on cell viability and proliferation and on interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10, and IL-8 secretion. The PBMCs were stimulated by Concanavalin A (ConA) alone or in combination with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) mitogen. The positive and negative controls were represented by PBMCs in the presence or absence, respectively, of mitogens only. The cell viability and proliferation were determined by XTT and BrdU assays, while the cytokines were analyzed by ELISA. The EO treatments did not affect the viability; on the contrary, the PBMC proliferation increased in presence of all the EOs tested, according to the different percentages and mitogens used. The IL-10 secretion was higher in both the REO and the LEO tested at 3% than in the positive control; furthermore, the IL-8 level was influenced differently by the various EOs. The present data demonstrate that EOs may modulate the immune response activated by inflammation.
... Lavender species EOs are commonly used in aromatherapy as antimicrobial agents (Soulaimani et al. 2019, Yıldırım et al. 2020, Giuliani et al. 2023, Speranza et al. 2023. The antimicrobial activity and other properties, such as antimutagenic and cytotoxic effects, have been referred to the abundance in many lavender essential oils of several monoterpenoids, including terpinen-4-ol, linalool, linalyl acetate and 1,8-cineole (Woronuk et al. 2011, Soulaimani et al. 2019 (Hammer et al. 1999, Moon et al. 2004, Rota et al. 2004, Hui et al. 2010, Soković et al. 2010, Blazekovic et al. 2011, Stanojević et al. 2011, Şerban et al. 2011, Zheljazkov et al. 2012, Danh et al. 2013, De Rapper et al. 2016, Blazekovic et al. 2018, El Hamdaoi et al. 2018, Najar et al. 2022, Slimani et al. 2022, Xylia et al. 2023. ...
The present study aimed to determine the chemical composition and in vitro antimicrobial potential for the first time of essential oils (EOs) from six cultivars (Druzhba, Raya, Hebar, Hemus, Yubileina, Sevtapolis) of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia Mill.) cultivated in Türkiye (Tekirdağ) against a panel of pathogenic and non-pathogenic microorganisms. The chemical composition of EOs, analysed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), revealed 34 different components in the six cultivars. The results indicate that the main major constituents of all EOs were monoterpenoid linalool (47.60–64.13%) and linalyl acetate (12.92–26.08%). Based on principal component analysis (PCA) cvs. Druzhba, Raya and Hebar were situated in the centre right quadrant of the plot and were characterised by linalool and linalyl acetate in subgroup one. The results of antimicrobial assays revealed that lavender EOs were active against all strains of bacteria tested. For bacteria, the strongest activity of cv. Hemus was observed against Enterococcus faecalis (IZ = 19 ± 0.10 mm, MIC = MMC = 6.25 (µg/mL), while the weakest potency was seen against the gram-negative Salmonella enterica (IZ = 21 ± 1.00 mm, MIC = MMC = 31.25 (µg/mL). Based on PCA, the first subgroup of cvs. Hebar and Raya was characterised by Lactobacillus rhamnosus, E. faecalis and Lactobacillus pentosus and was situated in the bottom right quadrant of the plot.
... Other studies compared different lavender cultivars at different geographic locations and practices and EO content oscillated from 0.35% to 2.0% [33] and from 0.2 to 8.1% [34]. There are data [35] about very low content (0.71-1.30%) in dry flowers. Overall, these data confirm the results in [4,12], in which it states that CF lavender has higher yield than OF lavendar, but the statistical procedure by an ANOVA test was not confirmed concerning the influence of the type of cultivation on lavender oil in our study. ...
Increasing prices and market demand for organic products are stimulants of organic farming. However, this sector is a challenge for producers and further improvements are still necessary. The present study case was conducted to compare the effects of organic (OF) and conventional (CF) farming on lavender (Lavandula angustifolia Mill.) oil yield, plant pigments and essential oil composition. The study was conducted for two years in the period 2019–2020. Six private farms were included in the experiment with conventional and organic agriculture systems. They are located in Kazanlak Valley, Southern Bulgaria. Organic lavender inflorescences were determined to have chlorophyll a and total chlorophyll within a narrow range between 251.3 and 275.7 μg·g−1 and between 375.5 and 487.0 μg·g−1 compared to conventional ones—between 245.9 and 377.5 μg·g−1 and 385.3 and 595.4 μg·g−1 respectively. However, carotenoids and anthocyanins were in a wide range in organic lavender between 36.9 and 72.2 μg·g−1 and 410 and 1240 µg cyn-3-gly.g−1 compared to conventional ones—between 55.5 and 77.3 μg·g−1 and 200 and 780 µg cyn-3-gly.g−1, respectively, for both studied years. The key constituents in essential oil were linalyl acetate (28.42–38.23%), linalool (20.01–31.04%) and β-caryophyllene (7.95–14.97%). The composition was compared with the parameters set out in the international standard for lavender oil. The influence of the type of agricultural system on essential oil yield and its composition was not found. According to the obtained results, levels of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and total chlorophyll were higher in conventional farming than in organic farming for the second year of the study.
... About 70 components are identified in the Bulgarian lavender oil, among the dominate linalyl acetate (24.7-51.6%), linalool (16.1-42.5 %), terpinen-1-ol (4.5-8.7 %), 1,8-cineole, (Z)-and (E)-ocimene, and lavandulol [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. ...
Abstract. Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia Mill.) fam. Lamiaceae is a cultivated plant in Europe, Asia and the
Americas. The aim of present work is study on chemical composition, physicochemical and thermodynamic properties of
lavender essential oil from Bulgaria. The main essential oil constituents are linalyl acetate (26.19%), -linalool (21.39%),
-caryophyllene (6.80%), (Z)--ocimene (6.78%), terpinen-4-ol (5.01%), lavandulol acetate (4.39%), (E)--ocimene
(3.02%), (E)--farnesene (2.73%), 1-octen-3-yl-acetate (2.65%), and -terpineol (2.36%). Physicochemical (refractive
index and relative density), thermodynamic (Gibbs energy, enthalpy, entropy, and activation energy) and thermal
properties (heat capacity, thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, dynamic, and kinematic viscosity) of lavender
essential oil and its main components are investigated.
... However, in some components, the essential oil concentration increased with increasing N level (β-pinene) and the N × P interaction also affected α-and β-thujone accumulation (Rioba et al., 2015). Besides, the climate of the cultivation area and the time of harvest are also important factors in determination of the quantity and quality of essential oil content (Zheljazkov et al., 2012;Hassiotis et al., 2014). Traykova et al. (2019) reported that the application of hydroponic and aeroponic growing systems shortened the period from germination to harvest, enhanced plants' flowering and reflected on the composition of the essential oil. ...
Cultivation of medicinal plants with the irrigation of agricultural effluents might be of great importance to save fresh water resources, extend cultivation area and increase economic feasibility. We investigated the effects of saline fish farm effluent water, diluted and gypsum-supplemented effluent, and natural freshwater as a control irrigation in lysimeters. Beside plant growth parameters, macronutrient and sodium content and the amount and composition of essential oil of sage plants were measured. Significant differences among irrigation treatments were found in plant height, SPAD value and essential oil content. Seasonal variation was also observed on plant height, nutrient content of the leaves and the total essential oil content. The essential oil components characterised by the highest levels of availability were detected as α-thujone, camphor, ß-thujone, 1,8-cineol and ledol. Under effluent irrigation, the concentrations of - and ß-thujone increased slightly; only camphene, trans-sabinole and caryophyllene-oxide changed significantly. The other main components remained stable. Our analysis of the response of sage to the input of effluent provides a reasonable ground for recommending the utilisation of saline effluent water from intensive fish farming in sage production, thus preventing the wastage of valuable water resources.
... Harvest time, ecological and climatic conditions might impact the herb yield, volatile oil content and quantitative constituents of some medicinal and aromatic plants. Also, the content and composition of secondary metabolites of lavender species essential oil could be influenced by harvest time ] 14[. Terpenes concentration in aromatic plants varies during the season and day. ...
... It has been shown to have antiseptic, antifungal, antiviral (especially against HIV), antitumor, antispasmodic, and antioxidant properties [14]. The main components of hyssop essential oil are pinocamphene, isopinocamphene, β-pinene, 1,8-cineole, myrtenol, linalool, pinocarvone, methyl eugenol, and limonene [12,[16][17][18]. Phenolic compounds are another important group of hyssop phytocomponents. ...
Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis L.) is an aromatic plant that is rich in various biologically active compounds and is widely used as a natural preservative and flavoring agent in the food and cosmetic industry and as a folk medicine against certain respiratory diseases. Despite the fact that selenium is not an essential trace element for plants, in a certain range of concentrations it can not only improve plant growth, but also increase the content of nutrients and biologically active compounds in plants. In the present study, the effect of treatment type (in a nutrient solution (NS) or by foliar application (FA)) and selenium (Se) concentration (2.0, 5.0, 10.0, 20.0, 40.0 μM) on the biomass, phenolic compounds, essential oil content, and antioxidant properties of hyssop grown in hydroponics was studied. Neither a toxic nor a beneficial effect of Se addition on the plants was observed. Selenium treatment significantly increased Se concentration in hyssop up to 38.35 μg g⁻¹ (NS) and 34.86 μg g⁻¹ (FA). The effect of selenium on the content of phenolic compounds, essential oil, and the antioxidant activity of hyssop depended on the applied selenium concentration. Hyssop treated with 10 μM Se (NS) and with 20 μM Se (FA) had a higher total content of hydroxycinnamic acids and higher contents of rosmarinic and chlorogenic acids, as well as a higher total content of phenolic compounds, higher content of essential oil, and higher antioxidant activity compared to other experimental plants. The results confirm the feasibility of selenium treatment of hyssop without reducing its production in order to enhance its nutritional and pharmaceutical properties.
... When the nutrients are applied to the leaves, the oil content in the plant increases probably due to better uptake of the chemicals from the leaf cells directly into the plant system (Mondal and Al Mamun 2011;Moghaddam and Mehdizadeh 2017). In some of the earlier works, it has been documented how the application of the fertilizers and the chemical inputs helps the plant in changing the amount of essential oil in them and alterations in the constitution in crops of having therapeutic properties and volatile aromatic components (Hendawy and Khalid 2011;Nurzynska-Wierdak 2012;Sharma and Kumar 2012;Zheljazkov et al. 2012;Moghaddam, and Mehdizadeh 2017). But it is not that every previous report suggested a positive or a huge influence of the fertilizers over the concentration of the secondary metabolites. ...
There is a wide array or diversified varieties of plants present in the Mother Nature.
Among them, a major group is plants which are capable of producing and biosynthesizing
secondary metabolites, aromatic in nature or responsible for the development of essential
oil. These are precisely very unique in their type as the active output provided by them in
the form of volatiles cannot be produced by other group of plants and are of great use to
the human race. We are very much aware about the utility of the yield from these plants
having exceptional demand in multiple destinations particularly which deals with firms
and industries producing medicines, perfumes or other high value herbal products.
Furthermore, the demand is not isolated within a region and within a country but it is
omnipresent all across the globe. The quantity and quality of these aromatic constituents
are influenced by majority of living and nonliving factors which affects them in as well
as outside the field. In some cases, factors elevate the development of secondary
metabolites and volatiles in the plants, whereas on some other conditions, attributes cause
quantitative deterioration in the amount and brings change in the make-up of the
metabolites. So, considering the importance of plant secondary metabolites, the presentchapter is focused to prove an idea that how the various factors are related to the
production and alteration in the quantity and the constituents of the volatiles. The chapter
also explains that why a better understanding is required about these factors to get a
desirable standard output.
... Recently, this plant has attracted the researchers' attention due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It was reported that the essential oil of hyssop has a high antioxidant activity (Zheljazkov et al. 2012). The phenolic compounds of H. officinalis indicated the highest radical scavenging activity (Fathiazad et al. 2011). ...
Given the complexity of pathophysiological processes of brain tumors, ineffective therapies, and high mortality rate, new therapeutic options with less toxicity are necessary. Hyssopus officinalis (hyssop) is an aromatic plant with important biological activities. The aim of this study is to assess the anti-cancer effect of hyssop extract on damages of glioblastoma multiforme. In this study, total flavonoids, phenolic content, and quantification of phenolic compound of hyssop extracts were analyzed. In vitro antioxidant properties of hyssop extract were also examined. In addition, cell viability, apoptosis, and cell cycle were evaluated in C6 glioma cell culture. In vivo, the rats were divided randomly into four main groups: intact, control, vehicle, and treatment groups. 1 × 10⁶ C6 rat glioma cells were implanted into the right caudate nucleus of the rat’s brain. The treatment group received the methanol extract of hyssop (100 mg/kg) for 7 days. Evolution of locomotor activity, tumor volume, survival rate, activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT)), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression, TUNEL-positive cells, p53 and p21 mRNA expression, and histological alterations were performed. The results showed that the methanol extract of hyssop increased the apoptosis and reduced the cell division of C6 glioma cells in cell culture. Moreover, methanol extract decreased the tumor volume and prolonged survival. Also, the activity of SOD and CAT enzymes was reduced in tumor tissue and enhanced in surrounding tissue. TUNEL-positive cells were increased in methanol extract of hyssop group. The expression of p53 and p21 mRNA was upregulated in the treatment group. Moreover, the histological analysis indicated a considerable decrease in invasion of tumor cells and inflammation in the hyssop-treated rats. According to the achieved results, it can be stated that hyssop has sufficient potential to inhibit damage of brain tumors, at least in part, by affecting the oxidative stress and cell proliferation pathways.
... Freshly picked flowers of Lavandula angustifolia and leaves of Mentha piperita, hemp plants (Cannabis sativa L.), Verbena officinalis and Salvia officinalis folium were purchased from different local markets such as Bioskin SRL and Agro Denmar SRL in Romania. The various samples were washed using distilled water and after that were allowed to dry at laboratory ambient temperature (23 ± 5 • C) [34]. All other reagents were used as received from commercial sources or were purified by standard methods. ...
The majority of recent studies have focused on obtaining MRI materials for internal use. However, this study focuses on a straightforward method for preparing gelatin-based materials with iron oxide nanoparticles (G–Fe2O3 and G–Fe3O4) for external use. The newly obtained materials must be precisely tuned to match the requirements and usage situation because they will be in close touch with human/animal skin. The biocompatible structures formed by gelatin, tannic acid, and iron oxide nanoparticles were investigated by using FTIR spectroscopy, SEM-EDAX analysis, and contact angle methods. The physico-chemical properties were obtained by using mechanical investigations, dynamic vapor sorption analysis, and bulk magnetic determination. The size and shape of iron oxide nanoparticles dictates the magnetic behavior of the gelatin-based samples. The magnetization curves revealed a typical S-shaped superparamagnetic behavior which is evidence of improved MRI image accuracy. In addition, the MTT assay was used to demonstrate the non-toxicity of the samples, and the antibacterial test confirmed satisfactory findings for all G-based materials.
... Edaphic factors play a major role in the production of plants' secondary metabolites (Ankita et al., 2016). Numerous reports have revealed the positive effects of soil N, P, and K on the level of the essence and active ingredients of various medicinal plants (Omer et al., 2014 ;Sharma and Kumar, 2012;Zheljazkov et al., 2012 ;Ankita et al., 2016;Xiao-Dan et al., 2018). A reason for Nikshahr's prominence regarding the majority of active ingredients may be the higher content of P and K in the habitat soil of this city. ...
Article history: The development and implementation of effective, beneficial programs towards restoration, conservation, and appropriate utilization of medicinal plant species are feasible only through the identification of their ecological characteristics. This research was conducted with the objective of investigating the morphological, nutritive, and secondary metabolite characteristics of calotrope wild populations in certain habitats of Baluchestan, as a completely random nested design with three repetitions throughout four cities during February/March 2014. The edaphic properties of habitats were also assessed. The obtained data were compared at a 5% significance level via DMRT. The samples were collected from various regions, including the cities of (1) Iranshahr (Mand-e Bala and Sarzeh villages), (2) Chabahar (Negour and Nalent villages), (3) Nikshahr (Bandaan and Bent villages), and Khash (Baluchkan and central Khash), were compared. Results showed that the majority of the investigated characteristics were significantly different among cities and regions. In this research, Nikshahr city had the highest number of morphological characteristics. The investigated soil in Nikshahr city was more suitable regarding P and K, as compared to other regions. The plants grown in Nikshahr had the highest level of foliar N, Ca, K, and P, the highest level of floral K, and the highest level of P and K in the roots. Forty-two compounds were identified in the aerial organs and root extracts of calotrope. Among the active ingredients, 9-Octadecenamide acid with 8.3% in the aerial organ, Benzyl alcohol with 8.7% in the root, and 2,6,10-Trimethyl,14-ethylene-14-pentadecane with 27.2% in the stem-extracted latex had the highest content in this plant.
... Freshly picked flowers of Lavandula angustifolia and leaves of Mentha piperita, hemp plants (Cannabis sativa L.), Verbena officinalis and Salvia officinalis folium were purchased from different local markets such as Bioskin SRL and Agro Denmar SRL in Romania. The various samples were washed using distilled water and after that were allowed to dry at laboratory ambient temperature (23 ± 5 • C) [34]. All other reagents were used as received from commercial sources or were purified by standard methods. ...
In this study, we aim to obtain biomaterials with antibacterial properties by combining poly(vinyl alcohol) with the extracts obtained from various selected plants from Romania. Natural herbal extracts of freshly picked flowers of the lavender plant (Lavandula angustifolia) and leaves of the peppermint plant (Mentha piperita), hemp plant (Cannabis sativa L.), verbena plant (Verbena officinalis) and sage plant (Salvia officinalis folium) were selected after an intensive analyzing of diverse medicinal plants often used as antibacterial and healing agents from the country flora. The plant extracts were characterized by different methods such as totals of phenols and flavonoids content and UV-is spectroscopy. The highest amounts of the total phenolic and flavonoid contents, respectively, were recorded for Salvia officinalis. Moreover, the obtained films of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) loaded with plant extracts were studied concerning the surface properties and their antibacterial or cytotoxicity activity. The Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared analysis described the successfully incorporation of each plant extract in the poly(vinyl alcohol) matrix, while the profilometry demonstrated the enhanced surface properties. The results showed that the plant extracts conferred significant antibacterial effects to films toward Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli and are not toxic against fibroblastic cells from the rabbit.
... $ ! % E0 .! g gg, Fathiazad et al., 2011;Zheljazkov et al., 2014 .( ! ...
Salinity is one of the main limiting factors for seed germination and seedling growth. The use of nutrients in priming
treatment is known as an effective way to improve seed yield In this regard, a factorial experiment was conducted in the
Khuzestan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, based on randomize complete design with three
replications. Priming treatment with nano and micro magnesium was performed at five concentrations zero, 50, 100, 200,
400 mg /litr, sepcratly. The durations of 12 and 24 hour were used for seed priming and salinity stress levels were zero, 50,
100, 150, 200, 250 mM made with sodium chloride. The results showed that increasing salinity stress declined hyssop seeds
resistance and reduced the germination characteristics of this plant. Priming with 400 mg/litr magnesium microclate
produced the highest germination percentage of 89.3%, average germination time of 5.9, seed vigor of 27.2 and root length
of 24 mm. The highest germination rate (0.461 per day) and shoot length (18 mm) were observed in control and 400 mg/litr
of nano-chelate, respectively. Results showed that nutrient seed priming with micochelate effectively alleviated salinity
stress effects and improved seed germination properties compared to nanochelate magnesium. The optimum seed priming
treatment obtained from 400 mg/litr micro chelate magnesium for 12 hours.
... The same EOs were shown to exhibit a repellency effect against Rhopalosiphum padi L. in a previous study and, hence, were considered promising for biological aphids' control [25]. Furthermore, the EOs of these plant species have shown various other activities [12,18,[26][27][28], including antimalarial activity [14], antifungal activity [29][30][31][32], and antibacterial activity [33,34]. ...
In this study, we evaluated the allelopathic effects of essential oils (EOs) from six different plant species, namely, lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis), English thyme (Thymus vulgaris), lovage (Levisticum officinale), costmary (Chrysanthemum balsamita), and cumin (Cuminum cyminum), on seed germination and seedling growth of barley (Hordeum vulgare) and wheat (Triticum aestivum). The main constituents of the EOs of L. angustifolia were 47.0% linalool acetate and 28.4% linalool; H. officinalis’ main constituents were 39.8% cis-pinocamphone, 9.8% trans-pinocamphone, 11.4% β-pinene, and 7.5% β-phellandrene; T. vulgaris’ were 38.2% para-cymene, 25.6% thymol, and 13.6% γ-terpinene; L. officinale’s were 64.8% α-terpinyl acetate and 14.7% β-phellandrene; C. balsamita’s were 43.7% camphor, 32.4% trans-thujone, and 11.6% camphene; C. cyminum’s were 49.6% cumin aldehyde, 10.4% para-cymene, 11.6% α-terpinen-7-al, and 9.1% β-pinene. All six EOs exhibited an allelopathic effect and suppressed the seed germination and seedling development of wheat and barley; however, the concentrations that exhibited a suppressing effect were different among the plants. C. cyminum EO completely suppressed both barley and wheat germination at 10-, 30-, and 90-µL application rates, making it the most effective treatment among the tested EOs. C. balsamita’s and H. officinalis’ EOs at 30 and 90 µL application rates completely suppressed barley and wheat radicles per seed, radicle length (mm), seedling height (mm), and germination (%). L. angustifolia’s EOs at 30- and 90-µL and T. vulgaris’ EO at 90 µL application rates also completely suppressed barley and wheat radicles per seed, radicle length (mm), seedling height (mm), and germination (%). C. balsamita’s, H. officinalis’, L. angustifolia’s, and T. vulgaris’ EOs at a 10 µL application rate reduced barley radicle length, seedling height, and % germination relative to the control. Wheat seed germination % was completely suppressed by the application of L. angustifolia’s and T. vulgaris’ EOs at 30 and 90 µL, while T. vulgaris’ EO at 10 µL rate reduced the germination relative to the control. Interestingly, C. balsamita and H. officinalis at 10 µL did not reduce wheat germination; however, they did reduce the number of radicles per seed, radicle length (mm), seedling height (mm), germination (%), and vigor index. Furthermore, L. officinale’s EO reduced the measured indices (radicles per seed, radicle length, seedling height, and vigor index) at the 10, 30, and 90 µL application rates relative to the non-treated control; however, none of the application rates of L. officinale’s EO had a suppression effect on wheat germination. This study demonstrated the allelopathic effects of the EOs of six different herbal plant species on seed germination of barley and winter wheat. The results can be utilized in the development of commercial products for controlling pre-harvest sprouting of wheat and barley. Further research is needed to verify the results under field conditions.
... The study of plants in controlled environments facilitates the understanding of factors that influence their development, especially the active principles of their vegetative organs. The complexity of these types of studies results from the fact that hydroponic microgreens are influenced by a great number of environment and nutritional factors, and these must therefore be correlated and analysed in detail in order to develop appropriate cultivation protocols (Zheljazkov et al., 2012;Mbarki et al., 2020). This leads to the improvement of the quality indices, purity, consistency, bioactivity, and biomass of products, on a commercial scale (Hayden, 2006). ...
Lettuce microgreens are one of the most popular vegetables due to them being perceived as a “healthy food”, with high concentrations of nutrients, beneficial vitamins, and minerals. With a short vegetation period, they can be cultivated with minimum investment, and they are increasingly accepted by consumers, as they are healthy and easy to prepare. Lettuce has high ecological plasticity, but, despite this, its phenotypic expression, morphology, physiology, and anatomy are significantly influenced by environmental conditions. Lettuce microgreens contain higher quantities of phytonutrients and minerals and lower quantities of nitrates at the early stage of development than at the completely developed stage. The environmental conditions that influence the development of lettuce microgreens (and their quality) in a hydroponic system are as follows (average ideal values): light (400 W), photoperiodicity (12 h), light intensity (400 µmol m−2 s−1), colour spectrum (440-460 nm), temperature (20 ± 2 °C), and humidity (80 ± 5 %). The nutritional solution in a hydroponic system must be carefully monitored, by checking certain essential parameters such as the following (average ideal values): pH (6.3 ± 0.4), electrical conductivity (1.8 ± 0.2 mS), dissolved oxygen (6 mg L−1), and temperature (18 ± 2 °C). The analysis of expert literature reveals that there is a need to establish certain protocols for cultivating microgreens in hydroponic systems, to minimize the factors that can negatively influence the plants, in order to obtain higher concentrations of active substances.
... Due to their wide economic exploitation, there are many reports on the fragrances of essential oils and identification of constituents from the Lavandula species. These studies demonstrate a high degree of intraspecific differences of chemical constituents in the oil, as influenced by genotype, age, development periods, organ, climate, geography, season, and even extraction method, etc. [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. ...
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 season of harvesting. The yields of essential oils ranged from 2.0% to 3.8% among the seasons, and the highest yield was in the summer. Chemical composition data showed that the extracted oils were rich in oxygenated monoterpenes (55.4–81.4%), eucalyptol (38.7–49.8%), camphor (8.41–14.26%), α-bisabolol (6.6–25.5%), and linalool (4.6–12.5%). The contents of eucalyptol and α-bisabolol changed in a contrary trend with seasonal variations. The results provided new insight for Chinese Lavandin germplasm to be used in application and development, and reference to the researcher, the farmer, 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.
... Mineral fertilizer may affect the growth and essential composition, their function with chances on the enzymes involved in the terpenoids biosynthesis (Sell 2003). Some previous studies demonstrated that N nutrition is affected by EO yield and composition of some aromatic plants (Sharma and Kumar 2012;Zheljazkov et al. 2012;Nurzýnska-Wierdak 2013;Rioba et al. 2015;Kucukyumuk et al. 2015;Chrysargyris et al. 2016;2017;Ranjbar et al. 2017). ...
The current study evaluated the influence of different nitrogen (N) concentrations (0, 5, 10, and 14.6 mM) on plant growth, essential oil (EO) yield and compositions, some biochemical, and physiological traits of Salvia officinalis L. which has grown in soilless conditions to explain any differences in the studied characteristics.This experiment was carried out based on a completely randomized design to assess the effects of different N levels (0, 5, 10, and 14.6 mM) on the nutrient content, growth, EO yield and compositions, and biochemical characteristics of sage under hydroponic condition.The results showed that N concentrations affected plant growth traits, micro- and macronutrient uptake, EO yield and compositions, photosynthetic pigments, total soluble sugars, proline, and total phenolic content, as well as antioxidant activity. Based on the findings, 0 mM N level reduced all of the studied traits. The greatest accumulation for N, P, K, Mg, Mn, Fe, B, Cu, Zn, Ca, Mo, the highest chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, and carotenoid, total soluble sugar, proline, total phenolic contents, antioxidant activity and EO yield and the least S content were observed at the highest N concentration (14.6 mM). The highest oxygenated monoterpenes (80.92%), as the main group of compounds, was observed at 14.6 mM N level. The application of 10 mM N showed the highest α-thujone as the major compound.The suitable concentration of N was 14.6 mM which can improve plant growth, nutrient content, and biochemical characteristics of sage as well as EO yield and composition by true nutrient management.
... Lavendula spica, Lavendula vera, Lavendula angustifolia) commonly known as English lavender, common lavender, true lavender is found in continents North America, Europe and Australia (Schutte, 2008). The main growing countries are Bulgaria and France and on smaller areas in Morocco, the former republics of Yugoslavia, Hungary, Italia, Russia, Spain, Romania, Ukraine, Turkey, and others (Zheljazkov, 2012;Jianu et al., 2013). It grows at a latitude of 30-40 degrees north, at an altitude of 3000 ft. ...
Essential oils (EOs) are volatile, natural, complex compounds characterized by a strong odour and are formed by aromatic plants as secondary metabolites. The essential oil of Lavendula officinalis was extracted using hydrodistillation process. Hydro-Distillation is potentially a very useful method to extract essential oil from various plants and from their different parts. The principle of extraction is based on the isotropic distillation. The yield is dependent on various parameters like weight of raw material, volume of water, size of raw material and nature of raw material. Samples from aerial parts of three Lavendula ecotypes were analyzed for essential oil content to find out as to which ecotype excels in oil content and which ecotype gave the minimum essential oil output. Air dried leafy stalks and stems of L. officinalis were taken and submitted to Hydro distillation for 4 hrs using Clevenger type apparatus. Briefly, the samples were immersed in water and heated to boiling, after which the essential oil was evaporated together with water vapour and finally collected in a condenser. The distillates (EOs) were isolated and dried over anhydrous sodium sulphate. The oils were stored in the sealed vials at 2°C for further studies. Each extraction was performed at least three times. The oil content was determined on an oil volume to tissue weight basis. Estimated oil content was lowest in Srinagar ecotype to a highest in Pulwama ecotype. Pulwama ecotype was followed by Budgam ecotype. This could be due to the variation in altitude and location.
... The yield of essential oils and content of the main components are dependent on different factors such species/varieties, humidity, temperature, pathogenic infection, herbivore attack, mechanical damage, and pollution 12,13 . ...
The present study aims to study the chemical composition of the essential oils from needles of three pine species: Pinus halepensis Mill., P. pinaster Aiton. and P. pinea L., and the evaluation of their in vitro anti-radical and antibacterial properties. GC-MS analysis showed that the essential oils were characterized by the abundance of monoterpene hydrocarbons (61.55-86.72 %). α-pinene, β-pinene, α-terpinolene, α-fenchene, and β-caryophyllene were the most plentiful components in P. halepensis. Limonene, α-pinene, and βcaryophyllene were particularly abundant in P. pinea and P. pinaster essential oils. The strongest DPPH-radical
scavenging activity (IC50 = 73.03 μg/mL) was observed for the limonene-rich essential oils of P. pinea. The three essential oils were effective against the Gram+ bacteria Bacillus subtilis and Listeria monocytogenes and the Gram- bacteria Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli. These results suggest that P. halepensis, P. pinaster, and P. pinea could constitute a consolidated source of natural bioactive ingredients with anti-radical and
antimicrobial properties.
... which is in line with our study (35.0% and 32.7%, respectively). Similarly, the research by Zheljazkov et al. [25] and Baydar and Kineci [26] showed that linalool (23.3-43.4%; 34.0%) and linalool acetate (20.2-39.6%; ...
The chemical composition, antioxidant activity, and antimicrobial properties of three commercially available essential oils: rosemary (REO), lavender (LEO), and mint (MEO), were determined in the current study. Our data revealed that the major components of REO, MEO, and LEO were 1,8-cineole (40.4%), menthol (40.1%), and linalool acetate (35.0%), respectively. The highest DPPH radical-scavenging activity was identified in MEO (36.85 ± 0.49%) among the investigated EOs. Regarding antimicrobial activities, we found that LEO had the strongest inhibitory efficiencies against the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida (C.) tropicalis, MEO against Salmonella (S.) enterica, and REO against Staphylococcus (S.) aureus. The strongest antifungal activity was displayed by mint EO, which totally inhibited the growth of Penicillium (P.) expansum and P. crustosum in all concentrations; the growth of P. citrinum was completely suppressed only by the lowest MEO concentration. The lowest minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) against S. enterica, S. aureus, and C. krusei were assessed for MEO. In situ analysis on the bread model showed that 125 µL/L of REO exhibited the lowest mycelial growth inhibition (MGI) of P. citrinum, and 500 µL/L of MEO caused the highest MGI of P. crustosum. Our results allow us to make conclusion that the analysed EOs have promising potential for use as innovative agents in the storage of bakery products in order to extend their shelf-life.
... When the nutrients are applied to the leaves, the oil content in the plant increases probably due to better uptake of the chemicals from the leaf cells directly into the plant system (Mondal and Al Mamun 2011;Moghaddam and Mehdizadeh 2017). In some of the earlier works, it has been documented how the application of the fertilizers and the chemical inputs helps the plant in changing the amount of essential oil in them and alterations in the constitution in crops of having therapeutic properties and volatile aromatic components (Hendawy and Khalid 2011;Nurzynska-Wierdak 2012;Sharma and Kumar 2012;Zheljazkov et al. 2012;Moghaddam, and Mehdizadeh 2017). But it is not that every previous report suggested a positive or a huge influence of the fertilizers over the concentration of the secondary metabolites. ...
The history of aroma and fragrance dates back through several ages and civilizations. The sagacity of smell plays a remarkable role for human being to recognize right food. Best fruits can be judged when they are ripe and fit for consumption emitting lovely smell or aroma. The same attribute from flowers attract insects leading to cross-pollination. India has enjoyed a paramount place in the fabrication of quality perfumes and aromatics since prehistoric era. The celebrated Chinese voyager Fa-Hien described India as the land of aromatic plants. Visitors, at Nawabi banquets, were welcomed essentially with attar. Indian cities like Delhi, Agra, Kannauj, Lucknow, Jaunpur, Ghazipur, Aligarh, Bharatpur, Mysore, and Hyderabad, emerged as centers of the national and international trade in perfumery and other aromatic compounds, and were known for their quality across Asia, Europe and Africa. Aromatic plants precisely possess odorous volatile substances in root, wood, bark, stem, foliage, flower and fruit. The typical aroma is due to an assortment of composite chemical compounds. At present, information on the chemistry and properties of essential oils of only about 500 aromatic plants species is known in some detail out of a total of about 1500. Of these, about 50 species find use as commercial source of essential oils and aroma chemicals. It is realized now that perfumes are not the essentials of sumptuousness as they were in the past. It has given birth to new streams of medicinal therapy, aromatherapy, involving the use of essential oils and aromatics derived from plants to treat diseases. Essential oils are also reported to be better than antibiotics due to their safety and broad spectrum activity. Natural essential oils are also potentially safe insecticides. The essential oil obtained from Acorus calamus having ß-asarone as an active principle, produces sterility among a variety of insects of either sex. It has, therefore, been found very useful and secure for the storage of food grains. However, there is still very inadequate research for the cultivation of aromatic crops and extraction of essential oils across the globe.
This book has been designed to highlight the associated issues of aromatic plants including the aspects of their classification, importance, uses and applications for human wellbeing, botany, agrotechniques, major bioactive constituents, post harvest extraction, chemistry and biochemistry of aroma compounds alongwith an informative modern global research on these plants throughout the world. Hope this book will cater the scholastic services and rewards to diverse professionals and stakeholders and serve as an informative handbook for theoretical as well as practical purposes.
... In silico reports conducted by Sharma and kaur [82] indicated that eucalyptus EO effectively bound to COVID-19 proteinase through hydrophobic interactions, ionic interactions and hydrogen bond. While, Ammoides verticillata EO was reported to be a potent inhibitor against angiotensin converting enzyme 2, a receptor of COVID-19, through Pi-H bonding [83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90]. ...
Nowadays, viral infection is considered a major cause of mortality all over the world such as covid-19 pandemic. In this context, searching for antiviral agents are major researchers interests. In this study, essential oils (EO) of Lavandula angustifolia (lavender) and Salvia officinalis (salvia) were subjected to combat avian influenza H5N1 virus.
Laboratory trials were performed to identify Lavender and salvia EOs and evaluate their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiviral activity against an avian influenza H5N1 virus. EOs were prepared by the hydrodistillation of air-dried plants and analyzed by GC-MS methods. The results revealed that salvia has the highest EOs yield 1.3% than lavender 1%. The dominant constituents of lavender EO were linalyl acetate and linalool while camphor and α-thujone were the dominant compounds of salvia. Both oils exhibited antioxidant activity in DPPH and ABTS and total antioxidant capacity assays. The results suggest the use of salvia and lavender EOs as effective natural anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antiviral agents.
... Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis) is used in traditional herbal medicine for its antiseptic, expectorant and cough reliever benefits due to its rich content in cineol, camphor, diosmin, hesperidin and rosmarinic acid. Hyssop tea has been used since ancient times both as medicine as well as an internal cleanser, being considered, in Biblical times, as a holy tea [7]. European goldenrod (Solidago virgaurea), also an important representative of traditional medicine, is often used to supplement urinary tract's health, to ease the inflammation process (due to its rich content in flavonoids), etc. [8]. ...
The lavender is an aromatic plant known and used since Antiquity. The raw material is constituted by inflorescence (Lavandulae flos, Lavandulae angustifoliae-flos, and Lavandulae hibridae flos, respectively) used fresh or as dry matter. The fresh flowers contain up to 0.8% volatile oil, and dry flowers up to 1.5%. The main components, from quantitative point of view, which confer the basic smell of the lavander, are linalool (20-35%) and linalyl acetate (30-55%). The volatile lavander oil is a strog flavour agent, used in perfumery and cosmetics, but it also has medicinal uses (carminative, sedative, spasmolytic and colagog action). The main components of the Sevstopolis lavander oil are linalool (27.55%) and linalyl acetate (22.16%). The volatile oil obtained from the lavander Sevstopolis variety, has antimicrobial activity.
Introduction: Salinity stress is one of the important damaging factors for seed germination which interrupts the uptake of some nutrients by lowering soil water potential and causing ion toxicity due to salt accumulation inside the seeds. Since hyssop seeds are sensitive to salinity stress in the early stages of seed germination, it is necessary to investigate seed enhancement methods to improve seed germination in this species under saline conditions. In this research, the effects of seed priming using iron were studied on hyssop seed germination characteristics under salinity stress conditions.
Material and Methods: This research was conducted as two separate factorial experiments in complete random design with three replications. The treatments included five levels of iron nano-chelate and micro-chelate (zero, 50, 100, 200, and 400 mg /l) and six levels of salinity (zero, 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 mM) and two priming durations. It included 12 and 24-hours.
Results: The results showed that with the increase in salinity, the germination characteristics declined so at 200 mM of salinity, seedling growth declined significantly and ceased completely at 250 mM level. Application of iron micro-chelate under non-stress conditions did not have any positive effect on hyssop germination, and the use of distilled water for 12 hours worked better than iron nano-chelate. No significant difference was observed among the different concentrations in micro-iron treatment. Application of nano and micro chelate at 100 and 150 mM salinity stress had a stronger effect so that nano iron chelate concentrations of 200 mg/L for 12 hours and 100 and 200 mg per liter concentrations of iron micro chelate had the highest germination, seedling growth, and seed germination in 24 hours. The amount of soluble protein and peroxidase and catalase activity increased at 50 mg/L salinity but decreased at higher salinities. Also, pretreatment of seeds with an iron micro-chelate and nano iron chelate concentration of 200 mg/liter intensified this process.
Conclusion: Conclusion: The results of this study showed that seed germination of hyssop is highly declined due to salinity stress, so the seedlings were unable to grow at a salinity concentration of 200 mg/L. Moreover, germination does not occur at 250 mg/liter salinity. Also, seed pretreatment of this plant is not justifiable under non-stress and mild stress conditions, and pretreatment with iron chelate had negative effects and was ineffective at best. However, iron chelate application at high salinity levels- especially in the nanoscale with a concentration of 200 mg/liter for 12 hours- is effective in reducing the effect of salinity.
In the present study, carbon quantum dots (CDQs) modified coumarine-3-carboxylic acid (CCA) and 7-diethyl amino coumarine-3-carboxylate (DACC) were synthesized by microwave assisted method and the synthesized hybrid nanomaterials possess greater biocompatibility, water solubility, luminescent and fluorescent properties. The hybrid CDQs: CCA/DACC nanomaterials exhibit superior fluorescent properties and greater quantum yield when subjected for excitation. Also, they possess superior bio-imaging properties, fluorescent quenching and contribute for the modern diagnosis and cell identification techniques. When tested for cytotoxicity, the hybrid nanomaterial does not showed cytotoxicity against L929 mouse fibroblast. The results clearly indicated that, the hybrid nanomaterials with surface modified CQDs dispersed over CCA/DACC may become a powerful tool in the field of nano medicine and pharmacy
Plant based aromatic oils are widely used for their valuable odour. They are highly valued in both domestic and foreign markets for their aroma and value-added goods like perfumes and cosmetics. In addition to having a pleasant smell, many aromatic oils offer medical properties that have raised their market value and expanded their uses in the pharmaceutical sector. Some of the aromatic oils, which are frequently utilized in product development, are extracts of Eucalyptus leaves, citrus fruit, cinnamon bark, basil plant, etc. The industry for aromatic oils is booming as they are increasingly used in the development of herbal medicines. The development of drugs using nanoparticles has become much more effective since the introduction of nanotechnology. In this method, the drug is coupled with nanoparticles and successfully delivered inside the body to treat the ailment in a target-specific manner. Aromatic oils are expected to be used in the development of nanoparticles that can then be applied to a variety of ailments. Nanoparticles might lessen the stress on plants that are mass-harvested for medicine manufacturing because they would only consume a little amount of oil. However, prior to using these formulations in the human body, it is crucial to comprehend the underlying principles of aromatic oil extraction, their chemical structure, nanochemistry, the effectiveness of nanoparticles, and their toxicology.KeywordsAromatic oilNanomaterialsSynthesisUses
To achieve a product with a high quantity and quality of active substance in the main and valuable medicinal and aromatic plants like hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis L.) under semiarid conditions requires the use of novel agronomic technics. The effects of the foliar application of salicylic acid (SA) and proline were investigated on the hyssop growth and phytochemical traits at the field conditions during two experimental years. The experiment was performed as a factorial in a completely randomized block design (RCBD), in which irrigation treatment (optimum and reduced irrigation) and the foliar application (control, the foliar applications of SA and proline). The volatile oils from the aerial parts harvested at the flowering were analyzed by GC-FID and GC/MS. Results indicated that water deficit stress significantly affected some physiological and phytochemical characteristics of hyssop. In general, the amounts of proline and chlorophyll (a, b, and total), the volatile oil content, and the concentrations of the major constituents of the volatile oil improved under water deficit stress. The highest values of the volatile oil content and the concentrations of the major constituents of the volatile oil including β-pinene (24.59%), trans-pinocamphene (14.20%), cis-pinocamphene (65.57%), and myrtenol (6.95%) were obtained from the plants treated with deficit irrigation × foliar spraying of SA. In conclusion, the foliar-spraying of SA could decrease the harmful impacts of water deficit on the concentrations of the main compounds in the volatile oil, and it is recommended for the stability of the active substance yield of H. officinalis in a semiarid climate.
The increase in the utilization of Lavandula essential oil in industries led to an impressive rise in the demand for quality essential oils. However, a post-harvest drying of Lavandula species can be a decisive factor to determine the quantity and quality of essential oil. The study was conducted in western Himalayan conditions to assess the essential oil content and composition of two Lavandula species viz., lavender (Lavandula angustifolia Mill.), and lavandin (Lavandula × intermedia Emeric ex Loisel), at four different drying duration (0 h, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h after the harvest). The higher growth attributes viz., plant height (71.7 cm), ear length (8.8 cm), number of spikes (18.1), and number of flowers per ear (47.5) were higher in lavandin, while the number of branches (17.1) was higher in lavender. Essential oil content (%) and moisture reduction (%) were significantly higher at 72 h than at 0 h. The major components of lavender and lavandin essential oil were linalool (33.6–40.5%), linalyl acetate (10.8–13.6%), lavandulyl acetate (2.8–14.5%), and linalyl propionate (5.3–14.1%) in both the Lavandula species. There was a decreasing trend in linalool and an increasing trend in linalyl acetate content in lavandin, with an increase in drying duration up to 72 h; while in lavender, no regular trend was observed in linalool and linalyl acetate content. It was observed that linalool and linalyl acetate levels were the highest at 24 and 0 h of drying in lavender and lavandin, respectively, and essential oil extraction can be done according to the desire of the constituent at varied drying duration.
Lavender crops have had an impressive continuous development in recent years, being currently a suitable alternative to other traditional crops because they can yield a high profit per hectare. This can be especially useful in Romania, with its high prevalence of subsistence and semi-subsistence farms. This study aims to analyse the issue of small emergent lavender farms in the context of the current Romanian agricultural background, including the framework mechanisms for implementing the Common Agricultural Policy at a national level. The research uses the qualitative survey method to provide broad, synthetic, analytical insights into small lavender farms/businesses in Romania, considering the perspective of the following two target groups: farm owners and civil servants with agricultural expertise. The main results show that both sample groups agree that lavender farms can be successful and satisfactory solutions. Increasing participation in information and training sessions may improve farmers’ access to financing mechanisms, but both small farmers and civil servants with agricultural expertise identify a series of problems, mainly regarding the absence of a dedicated market for lavender-based products and a lack of labour force, both essential for maintaining the farming–processing–commercialising chain. The authors also conclude that a more flexible and future harmonisation between Romania’s agricultural realities, the Common Agricultural Policy, and the National Rural Development Programme would improve lavender farming’s social and economic impact. Follow-up research may envisage more in-depth market analyses for this emerging sector in Romania, facing obvious competition, but which could also benefit from good practice exchanges in the region.
Present study reports the chemical composition and the contact toxicity of Lavender derived essential oil and its effects on the biochemical composition (carbohydrates, lipids, ad proteins) and the antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT and GPx) in adults of Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae). Chemical composition analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) showed that Linalool (20.48%) and linalyl acetate (13.24%) were the major compounds. The EO exhibit contact toxicity against Rhyzopertha dominica, with dose-response relationship. Moreover, EO of L. angustifolia induce a decrease of the lipid, protein and carbohydrate contents in adults. Biomarkers determined in adults treated with LC25 and LC50 revealed an induction of the detoxification system via an increase in activity of Catalase and Superoxyde dismutase and no effect on GPx activity. L. angustifolia essential oil could be considered as alternative to chemical insecticides for pest control.
The rich bioactive compounds of medicinal rosemary, as well as their antioxidant activity has led to its wider application in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries. In the present work, seasonal variations of phenolic, flavonoid content and antioxidant activity were evaluated. This experiment was performed based on a complete randomised design with three replications. The total content of flavonoids and some phenolic compounds (caffeic acid and quercetin) increased when plants received sunlight for a longer period of time than the colder seasons. On the other hand, the highest antioxidant activity was observed in rosemary, which was accompanied by an increase in the important phenolic composition of rosmarinic acid in the cold season. Overall, this study can provide useful information about the best harvest period for rosemary to produce the desired compounds for use in the food, pharmaceutical and plant industries.
True lavender (Lavandula angustifolia Mill.) belongs to the genus Lavandula and is the most cultivated and commercialized species in the world. This specie is used in perfumery industry, but also presents medicinal properties. The production of these metabolites can be affected by several factors, among which is the supply of mineral nutrients. The proposal of this study was to evaluate the adaptability of plants and the mineral complementation of phosphorus in the plant growth and essential oil (EO) yield and quality of lavender in tropical climate, in the north of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The seeds were germinated and planted in 20 L pots previously fertilized with five levels of phosphorus (0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 mg/dm³). Two harvests were evaluated, between 2018 and 2019. Lavandula angustifolia Mill. plants showed adaptability to tropical climate, being the best growth results obtained in the second harvest. All the characteristics evaluated in the second harvest showed influence of phosphate fertilization. The nutritional levels allowed to establish the order of accumulation of K > N>Ca > Mg > P > S for macronutrients and Fe > Mn > Zn > B>Cu > Ni > Mo for micronutrients. The significant equations obtained allowed the calculation of the dose of 77 mg/dm³ of P for maximum EO production, with adequate characteristics as for the chemical profile.
The medicinal composition of rosemary essential oil has led to its widespread use in the food, cosmetic, health and herbal industries. In the present work, seasonal variations of essential constituents of essential oil, essential oil yield were evaluated. The predominant components of rosemary were: camphene, limonene, α-pinene, camphor, borneol, linalool, 1,8-cineole, (E)- caryophyllene and bornyl acetate. The highest rate of linalool was seen in summer, while camphor, limonene and borneol showed the highest percentage in cold season. Some of the compounds such as α-pinene, camphene, bornyl acetate and (E)- caryophyllene in the spring with the activation of some important plant enzymes such as peroxidase showed the highest amount. It is hoped that this research will provide very useful information about the best time to harvest the valuable rosemary plant and can be useful for the health, food and herbal industries that use this plant.
Genotype and Harvesting age are found to be an important factor which affects the herbage and essential oil yield of sweet basil. Knowing harvesting age in aromatic crop production is essential for essential oil extraction to optimize the biomass production and to harvest the crop before any deterioration on biomass, oil content and quality occurs. It was found that the chemical composition of the essential oil in sweet basil is highly related to the age of the leaves, thus emphasizing the importance of the growth stage at which harvesting takes place. The relationship between age and essential oil content arises from the process of biosynthesis. Essential oil synthesis occurs only in very young cells; as the synthesis proceeds, the oil is released outside the cell. At the early period of leaf development, the release of oil is high and it remains at the same level during further period of leaf growth, when leaf weight increases significantly. Therefore, the amount of oil in the leaf, expressed in percent, decreases with plant growth; this also results from losses caused by oil evaporation. The cultivar, cropping period, plant ontogeny, and plant part have a determining effect on the yield and quality of the volatile oil of sweet basil. The extraction of essential oil at an appropriate age of plant makes it possible to obtain the highest herbage yield, essential oil yield and content of the desired components with special biological activity. Sweet basil genotypes have different herbage yield, essential oil yield and contents and differences in the essential oil yield and its components among the studied landraces of basil could be attributed to genetic diversity.
Certain post-harvest processes of medicinal and aromatic crops (MACs) such as washing, drying, cutting and milling, decontamination, packaging, and warehousing are widely applied in the industry. However, the effects of some of them on the active ingredients have been less thoroughly studied. Changes in the essential oil (EO) content and composition of hyssop leaves were studied under cold plasma treatments (voltage values of 17, 20 and 23 kV for 1, 5 and 10 minutes), using different packaging methods (packaged with air, nitrogen, and under vacuum) and storage duration (0, 3 and 6 months). All samples were hydro-distilled for EO content evaluation and EO composition was determined by gas chromatography and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. In addition, color properties and structure of the glandular trichomes were studied. The results showed that cold plasma treatment significantly reduced EO content in comparison to the control, while higher intensities resulted in a greater reduction of EO. There were slight variations of a browning index between cold plasma treated samples, although no specific trend was observed. The trichomes were vulnerable to cold plasma intensity and prolongation. With increasing treatment duration at all intensities of cold plasma, important compounds such as cis-pinocamphone, trans-pinocamphone and β-pinene were reduced. The EO content was decreased with increasing storage time in all packaging methods, which was not significant in the samples packed with nitrogen gas. During the storage period, the amounts of cis and trans-pinocamphone were reduced, but β-pinene content increased. Overall, this study showed that the use of cold plasma as a new disinfection technique can cause changes in hyssop EO, while nitrogen packaging, compared to other methods, was able to preserve both EO content and components during storage.
Field and laboratory experiments were conducted during the summers of 2001 and 2002 in two locations in Nova Scotia to identify the effect of cultivar, transplanting date, and drying (air-drying and freeze-drying) on basil (Ocimum basilicum 'Mesten' and 'Italian Broadleaf', and O. sanctum Local') productivity and oil quality in Nova Scotia and to identify the potential of growing basil as a cash crop in this region. Results suggested that all of the tested cultivars of basil grown in Nova Scotia had acceptable yields and composition for the international commercial market. Greater yields (ranging from 3.6 to 19.8 t-ha(-1)) were achieved from 'Mesten'and 'Italian Broadleaf' by earlier transplanting. Local' had a lower oil content compared to the other cultivars. Linalool was the main component of 'Mesten' oil, linalool and methyl chavicol were the main components of 'Italian Broadleaf'oil, while elemene and alpha-humulene were the main components of 'Local' oil. Both air-drying and freeze-drying were found to alter the composition of the essential oil from O. sanctum and O. basilicum.
Studies have been conducted on the effect of the aerosol and soil heavy metal pollution upon the growth, development and quality of Lavandula angustifolia Mill, in field experiments, during the period of 1989-1992. Cultivars Hemus and Druzhba, which were used as experimental material, were grown in three different environments. The first was at a distance of 400 m from Non-Ferrous Metals Combine (NFMC near Plovdiv), on heavily polluted soils; the second was at 3 km from NFMC, on less polluted soils, and the third control plot was at 9 km from NFMC, in the experimental field of Agricultural University in Plovdiv. At different growth stages of the lavender plants, fresh herbage yield, height, amount of branching, essential oil content, and GC analysis of the oils were determined. In addition, heavy metal content in the soils, plant roots, stems, leaves, racemes, essential oils and the wastes from the distillation were also determined. It was found that soil and air heavy metal pollution did not affect the occurrence and duration of the different growth stages of lavender, the amount of branching, the essential oil content, the yield of fresh inflorescences and oil composition. Depending on die rate of soil and air pollution, inflorescences accumulated different amounts of heavy metals. In spite of die great amounts of heavy metal accumulated by the inflorescence, the oil was not contaminated. A positive correlation between metal concentration in the inflorescence and that found in the oils for Cu was observed. Heavy metal concentration in plant parts was observed in the following order for each metal: Cd: leaves > roots = inflorescences = stems; Pb: stems > leaves = inflorescences > roots; Cu: roots > leaves = inflorescences = stems; Mn: roots > leaves = inflorescences > stems; Zn: leaves = stems > inflorescences > roots; and Fe: roots > leaves > stems > inflorescences. The results obtained could be used as a model for other similar crops grown in other regions in which a similar rate of industrial pollution can be found. It was concluded that die lavender cvs Druzhba and Hemus could be successfully grown in highly heavy metal polluted areas without any risk of essential oil contamination.
Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis L.), native to the Caucasus, North Western Iran, Turkish North Eastern Black Sea region, and Southern Anatolia, is a highly valued medicinal plant. The experiment was conducted to find the effect of harvesting at different blooming stages of the plant on fresh and dry herbage yield, dry leaf yield, essential oil content, and essential oil components. In total, twenty-nine components were identified in hyssop essential oil by GC/MS. Isopinocamphone was the dominating component (47.9–51.4%) in the all analysed oil samples. The results clearly demonstrated that oil contents are seriously affected by the environmental conditions and stage of blooming, with the highest oil yield and oil contents at the post-blooming stage.
Commercially available oils of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia Mill.), lemon-balm (Melissa officinalis L.), juniper berry (Juniperus communis L.), lemon verbena (Lippia citriodora Kunth), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) and cypress (Cupressus sempervirens L.) were evaluated for their antimicrobial activity. Analyses of the oils by GC-FID and GC/MS revealed that the major constituents of these oils were linalool (23.1%) and linalyl acetate (23.1%) in lavender, citronellal (23.8%) and geranial (11.6%) in lemon-balm, α-pinene (29.2%) in juniper berry, neral (36.2%) and geranial (41.9%) in lemon verbena, 1,8-cineole (24.4%) and camphor (17.1%) in rosemary, α-pinene (31.1%) and δ-3-carene (18.6%) in cypress oil.
The antimicrobial activity of the essential oils was evaluated on survival and growth of some microorganisms potentially dangerous to the safety of foods (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria innocua). The antimicrobial tests were carried out both in solid and in liquid media. E. coli was the most sensitive organism among the tested ones to the inhibition effect of the oils.
‘Scotch’ (Mentha x gracilis Sole) and ‘Native’ (Mentha spicata L.) spearmints are grown in the northern United States, but have not been evaluated in the Southeast. Two-year field studies were conducted in Mississippi at two locations (Verona and Stoneville) to evaluate the effects of N application rate and cut (harvest time) on yields, essential oil contents, compositions, and the yield of individual oil constituents [(–)-carvone, (R)-(+)-limonene, and eucalyptol] in Scotch and Native spearmints. Application of N at 80 and 160 kg/ha increased herbage and oil yields in Scotch, suggesting that commercial Scotch plantations should be provided with 160 kg N/ha. Native spearmint provided similar herbage yields when fertilized with 80 or 160 kg N/ha, but the higher N rate increased oil yields. The essential oil yields in this study were higher than the average oil yields for spearmint grown in the United States during 2008. The essential oil composition of Scotch and Native spearmints grown in Mississippi were similar to the oil produced in other states and other regions in the world. At the Verona site, the average (–)-carvone concentration in the essential oil of Scotch was 68 to 75%, whereas the concentration of (–)-carvone in Native oil ranged from 59 to 62%. At Stoneville, the average (–)-carvone concentration in Scotch oil was 74%, whereas (–)-carvone in Native oil was 68 to 74%. Both Scotch and Native spearmints could be grown as essential oil crops in Mississippi and possibly in other areas of the southeastern United States.
Despite the commercial importance of Lavandula angustifolia Mill. and L. x intermedia Emeric ex Loisel floral essential oils (EOs), no information is currently available on potential changes in individual volatile organic compound (VOC) content during inflorescence development. Calyces were found to be the main sites of VOC accumulation. The 20 most abundant VOCs could be separated into three sub-groups according to their patterns of change in concentration The three groups of VOCs sequentially dominated the global scent bouquet of inflorescences, the transition between the first and second groups occurring around the opening of the first flower of the inflorescence and the one between the second and third groups at the start of seed set. Changes in calyx VOC accumulation were linked to the developmental stage of individual flowers. Leaves accumulated a smaller number of VOCs which were a subset of those seen in preflowering inflorescences. Their nature and content remained constant during the growing season. Quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction assessments of the expression of two terpene synthase (TPS) genes, LaLIMS and LaLINS, revealed similar trends between their patterns of expression and those of their VOC products. Molecular and chemical analyses suggest that changes in TPS expression occur during lavender inflorescence development and lead to changes in EO composition. Both molecular data and terpene analysis support the findings that changes in biosynthesis of terpene occurred during inflorescence development.
The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of selected essential oils for the control of growth and survival of pathogenic microorganisms of significant importance in food hygiene and to determine whether the antimicrobial effect was due to the major compounds of the oils. MIC and MBC were determined by the tube dilution method. Essential oils from Thymus vulgaris from Spain and France, Salvia sclarea, Salvia officinalis, Salvia lavandulifolia, Lavandula latifolia, Lavandula angustifolia, three hybrids of Lavandula latifolia x Lavandula angustifolia (Lavandin 'Super', Lavandin 'Abrialis', and Lavandin 'Grosso'), Rosmarinus officinalis, Hissopus officinalis, and Satureja montana were evaluated. Inhibition ranged from the strong activity of Satureja montana and Thymus vulgaris (France) to no inhibition with Salvia sclarea and Hissopus officinalis for each of the test strains: Salmonella Enteritidis, Salmonella Typhimurium, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Yersinia enterocolitica, Shigella flexneri, Listeria monocytogenes serovar 4b, and Staphylococcus aureus. Because some of the essential oils were highly inhibitory in small quantities to selected pathogenic microorganisms, they may provide alternatives to conventional antimicrobial additives in foods.
The aim of this study was to find an alternative to synthetic fungicides currently used in the control of devastating oomycete pathogen Phytophthora infestans, causal agent of late blight disease of tomato. Antifungal activities of essential oils obtained from aerial parts of aromatic plants such as oregano (Origanum syriacum var. bevanii), thyme (Thymbra spicata subsp. spicata), lavender (Lavandula stoechas subsp. stoechas), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), and laurel (Laurus nobilis), were investigated against P. infestans. Both contact and volatile phase effects of different concentrations of the essential oils used were determined by using two in vitro methods. Chemical compositions of the essential oils were also determined by GC-MS analysis. Major compounds found in essential oils of thyme, oregano, rosemary, lavender, fennel and laurel were carvacrol (37.9%), carvacrol (79.8), borneol (20.4%), camphor (20.2%), anethole (82.8%) and 1,8-cineole (35.5%), respectively. All essential oils were found to inhibit the growth of P. infestans in a dose-dependent manner. Volatile phase effect of oregano and thyme oils at 0.3 microg/ml air was found to completely inhibit the growth of P. infestans. Complete growth inhibition of pathogen by essential oil of fennel, rosemary, lavender and laurel was, however, observed at 0.4-2.0 microg/ml air concentrations. For the determination of the contact phase effects of the tested essential oils, oregano, thyme and fennel oils at 6.4 microg/ml were found to inhibit the growth of P. infestans completely. Essential oils of rosemary, lavender and laurel were inhibitory at relatively higher concentrations (12.8, 25.6, 51.2 microg/ml respectively). Volatile phase effects of essential oils were consistently found to be more effective on fungal growth than contact phase effect. Sporangial production was also inhibited by the essential oil tested. Light and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) observation on pathogen hyphae, exposed to both volatile and contact phase of oil, revealed considerable morphological alterations in hyphae such as cytoplasmic coagulation, vacuolations, hyphal shrivelling and protoplast leakage.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of essential oils from 13 different plants from Lamiaceae family against different species of Streptococci using broth micro-dilution assay. The essential oils were identified using GC and GC/MS. Zataria muttiflora, Ziziphora tenuir, Satureja hortensis showed the most antimicrobial activity against Streptococcus species. Conversely, Zhumeria majdae, Salvia officinalis, Mentha spicata, and Rosmarinus officinalis were less effective. Perovskia abrotanoides, Mentha pulegium, Mentha piperita, Hyssopus officinalis, Ocimum basilicum and Lavandula stoechas showed moderate activity.An isolate of Streptococcus mutans was the most susceptible cocci to these compounds (MIC values ≤I μl/ml). Conversely, with the exception of Z mukiflora oil (MIC values = I μl/ml), Enterococcus faecalis (group D streptococci) was resistant to all tested essential oils (MIC >2 μl/ml).The results suggest that the differences in antimicrobial activity of oils may be attributable to the major chemical components of the essential oils. The essential oils from Zataria multiflora and Satureja hortensis possessed antimicrobial properties against streptococci apparently related to their high phenolic content, particularly thymol and carvacrol. Further in vivo experiment should be done for confirmation of their potency in practical uses.
The present study describes the phytochemical profile and antimicrobial activity of Lavandula dentata essential oil, collected in eastern Morocco (Taforalt, Talazart). The sample of essential oil was obtained from the aerial parts of the plant by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC–MS. From the 29 compounds representing 99.87% of the oils: 1, 8 cineol (41.28%), sabinene (13.69%), bicycle [3.1.0] hexan-3-Ol, 4-methylene-1-(1-methylethyl) (6.76%), myrtenal (5.11%) and α-pinene (4.05%) appear as the main components. The oil also contained smaller percentages of borneol, linalool oxide cis, linalool, myrtenol, bicyclo [3.1.1] heptan-2-one, 6, 6-dimethyl-, (1r) and pinocarvone. Furthermore, antimicrobial activity of the oil was evaluated using agar diffusion and broth microdilution methods. The antimicrobial test results showed that the oil had antimicrobial activity against all 22 bacteria strains included in the study, except Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Results, suggest potential antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of L. dentata, which may find its application in future research for the food and pharmaceutical industry.
The plants of Hyssopus officinalis ssp. officinalis genotype raised through seeds sown in early December 1997 flowered in May 1998. The essential oil yields obtained upon hydrodistillation of above ground parts, harvested in May, were 0.25% on fresh herbage weight basis and 1.18% on dry herbage weight basis. The GC and GC–MS analysis of the essential oil led to the identification of 21 compounds representing 95.6% of the oil, having seven monoterpene hydrocarbons (32.3%), five oxygenated monoterpenes (60.5%) one phenol (0.2%) and six sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (0.35%). The major constituents of the camphorous odoured oil were pinocamphone (49.1%) >β-pinene (18.4%) >isopinocamphone (9.7%). Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
study was conducted to compare and correlate the Mehlich 3 soil extraction method with the Lancaster soil extraction method. This study compared calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), and phosphorus (P) concentrations in 422 soil samples from eight fields, which varied greatly in soil type, texture, and fertility. Each soil sample consisted of 10 subsamples collected from 0 to 15 cm deep. Soil fertility was determined using both the Mehlich 3 soil test method and the Lancaster soil test method. Ca, Mg, K, and P extracted by the two methods were compared using linear regression. The Lancaster method consistently extracted higher concentrations of the nutrients than did the Mehlich 3 method for low soil Ca concentrations. As soil Ca increased, differences between the two methods diminished until a point was reached where the methods extracted equal amounts of the nutrients. After this point, the Mehlich 3 methods extracted more of the nutrients than did the Lancaster method. This was attributed to the neutralization of the acidity in the first stage of the Lancaster method. Despite these differences, good correlations were found between the two methods for Ca, Mg, and K, with R-2 for the regression equations ranging from 0.73 to 0.80. However, P levels were not highly correlated (R-2 = 0.39) between the two methods, indicating that estimates of this nutrient determined with one method were not comparable to estimates made with the other.
The antimicrobial activity of essential oil of Hyssopus officinalis L. var decumbens (Jordan & Fourr.) Briq. from France (Banon) and Hyssopus officinalis L. from Italy (Piedmont) was studied taking account of their chemical composition determined by GC and GC–MS. Pinocamphone and isopinocamphone are present in H. officinalis (4.4% and 43.3%, respectively), according to the ISO 9841 Standard (1991 E) but they are lacking in var. decumbens, where linalol (51.7%), 1,8-cineole (12.3%) and limonene (5.1%) instead are predominant. The disc diffusion tests carried out on Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus spp.) and Gram-negative bacteria (Klebsiella oxytoca, Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas spp. and two strains of Salmonella spp.) showed an antimicrobial activity generally negligible for H. officinalis, but broader, and in a few cases more evident (Enterococcus spp. and E. coli), for var. decumbens. All yeasts (seven strains of Candida albicans, C. krusei and C. tropicalis) were strongly inhibited by both species. In liquid medium the MIC of H. officialis was always >1.2% v/v for bacteria and between 0.6 and 1.2% v/v for yeasts, while the MIC of var. decumbens was between 0.15 and 0.6% v/v for the Gram-positive bacteria, 0.3 and 1.2% v/v for the Gram-negative bacteria and 0.15 and 0.3% v/v for the yeasts. The effect of var. decumbens was generally bactericidal. Linalol, and in a lesser way, 1,8-cineole, may contribute to the greater antimicrobial activity of var. decumbens in comparison with H. officinalis, while limonene may be responsible for the antimycotic action observed in both oils, as suggested by results of the disc diffusion tests carried out on the pure reference substances. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The essential oils from different parts of hyssop ( Hyssopus officinalis L.) were investigated by means of GC and GC‐MS at three stages of development of the plant. Besides the main components pinocamphone, camphor and β‐pinene, 15 other terpenes were detected, among which were isopinocamphone, α and β‐phellandrene, germacrene D, and some derivatives of myrtenol. The sesquiterpene alcohol hedycaryol was found to be converted to elemol during GC and MS analysis.
Compared with the essential oil content (0.03–0.16% of the fresh plant material), the glycosidic bound volatiles were present in lower concentrations (0.01–0.06%). The glycosidic fraction was hydrolysed by means of Pectinol C and β‐glucosidase yielding among others octan‐3‐ol, linalol, cis‐nerolidol, benzyl alcohol, phenylethanol, eugenol and o‐vanillin. The bicyclic terpenes myrtenol and verbenol could only be detected in small amounts as glycosides of the leaves. This fact gives reason for doubt about a direct connection between the glycosidic bound volatiles and the biogenesis of the essential oil components in hyssop.
The use of aromatic plants and spices to prepare beverages dates back to ancient Mediterranean history. This article presents a non-exhaustive overview of the historical and current use of some botanicals in the aromatization of different types of alcoholic beverages, including some legislative aspects. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A mathematical model was evaluated to predict the essential oil recovery by steam distillation of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.), basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), and lavender (Lavandula dentata L.). The aim of the work was to obtain yield experimental data to compare with a mathematical model used in the simulation of essential oils extraction by steam distillation. The extraction model is based on single plate particle description on mass transfer. This model requires only one adjustable parameter, effective diffusion coefficient (D), to predict the essential oil yield experimental curves.
A new process design and operation for microwave accelerated steam distillation (MASD) of essential oils was developed. A packed bed of lavender flowers (Lavandula angustifolia Mill., Lamiaceae) sits above the steam source generated by microwave heating. Only steam passes through it without the boiling water mixing with vegetable raw material, as is the case in hydro-distillation. MASD has been compared with a conventional technique, steam distillation (SD), for the extraction of essential oil from lavender flowers. Extraction of essential oils from lavender with MASD was better than SD in terms of energy saving, rapidity (10 min versus 90 min), product yield, cleanliness and product quality.
The essential oils from dried leaves of Lavandula bipinnata (Roth) Kuntze (Lamiaceae), obtained by soxhlet extraction was analysed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and was evaluated for in vitro antimicrobial activity. The most common components usually found in lavender essential oils were present in the oil samples analysed, out of 43 peaks, 29 components, which constitute 72.38%, were identified in the essential oil. The major constituents were transcarveol (18.93%), pulegone (8.45%), camphor (7.09%) and menthol (5.89%). Other constituents present in fairly good amounts are pipertone (4.65%), caryophyllene oxide (3.68%), linalyl acetate (3.37%) and bicyclogermacrene (3.09%). The essential oil was screened for antimicrobial activity by disc diffusion assay and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against bacteria and fungus. Results reveal that L. bipinnata essential oils are inhibitory against the tested bacteria and fungal strains.
An experiment was undertaken to determine the herbage biomass and oil production of thyme (Thymus vulgaris Linn.) and hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis Linn.) in 2003 and 2004 in the semi-arid region of Khorasan in Iran. The experiment was a split plot with three irrigation intervals as main plots and three planting densities as subplots, all of which replicated three times. Irrigation intervals consisted of 7, 14, and 21 days for both crops and planting densities of 6.6, 8, and 10 (plants m−2) for thyme and 5, 6.6, and 8 (plants m−2) for hyssop. Different planting densities were employed by changing planting distances on cultivation rows. Herbage biomass and oil production of shoots, harvested at flowering were measured as annual production of each crop. Irrigation intervals did not change total harvested herbage biomass and oil production of both crops. Averaged across both years of the experiment, thyme produced higher oil than hyssop. Both crops produced higher biomass and oil in the second year of the experiment compared to the first year. While thyme plants biomass and oil production were lower at the highest planting density, hyssop plants showed no response to planting density. Herbage biomass and oil production of hyssop did not show a clear trend in response to interaction of irrigation intervals and planting densities in both years of the experiment. Our results showed that there is a high potential for saving water through longer irrigation intervals (e.g. 14 days) using locally adapted plants in the semi-arid conditions of Khorasan. These crops serve as alternative sources of income in dry years.
Sprout suppressant properties of the essential oils of Lavandula angustifolia (lavender), Mentha pulegium (mint), Mentha spicata (spearmint), Origanum onites (Turkish oregano), Origanum vulgare ssp. hirtum (Greek oregano), Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary), and Salvia fruticosa (sage) were assessed. Except for oregano oils, all other essential oils suppressed potato sprout growth. Those of L. angustifolia, Salvia frucicosa and R. officinalis were the most effective. Application of crude herbs, instead of extracted essential oils, lead to comparable results. The inhibition is reversible, thus allowing subsequent normal sprouting of seed potatoes. The essential oils of the above mentioned aromatic plants, as well as those of Coridothymus capitatus (Spanish oregano), Origanum dictamnus (Cretan dittany), and Satureja thymbra, were also found to possess potent antimicrobial activities against Erwinia carotovora strains and bacteria isolated from the surface of potato tubers. The carvacrol-containing essential oils, and particularly that of Greek oregano, had the strongest effect. Use of aromatic plants could be an effective and safe way to prolong the storage life of potato tubers, at the same time protecting them from certain microbial attacks. This holds, in particular, for regions such as the Mediterranean, where prolongation of tuber dormancy needs more drastic and costly measures, because of the high temperatures. As aromatic plants grow natively and in abundance, their use would be cost-effective.
Peppermint ( Mentha × piperita L.) and spearmints ('Scotch' spearmint, M. × gracilis Sole, and 'Native' spearmint, Mentha spicata L.) are widely grown essential oil crops in more northern latitudes; however, there is limited information on how harvest time and drying influence peppermint and spearmint yield, oil composition, and bioactivity, when grown south of the 41st parallel. In this 2-year study, the effects of harvest time and drying on the yield, oil composition, and bioactivity of peppermint ('Black Mitcham' and 'B90-9'), 'Scotch' spearmint, and 'Native' spearmint were evaluated. Peppermint oil from the dried material had higher menthol and eucalyptol concentrations. Menthone in both peppermint cultivars decreased from harvest 1 (late June) to harvest 5 (late August) or 6 (early September), whereas menthol increased. (-)-Carvone in spearmints accumulated early, before flowering, allowing for early harvest. Oil yields from the dried spearmint biomass reached the maximum at harvest 3 (mid-July). The essential oil compositions of the four mint genotypes were similar to that of 11 commercially available oils, suggesting that these genotypes can be grown in the hot, humid environment of the southeastern United States. The antioxidant activities (ORAC(oil) values) of the essential oils were 4372, 1713, 1107, and 471 μmol of TE L(-1) for 'Scotch' spearmint, 'Native' spearmint, peppermint, and Japanese cornmint ( Mentha canadensis ), respectively. The oils of the four mint genotypes did not affect ruminal fermentation in vivo, and did not exhibit antimicrobial, antileishmanial, or antimalarial activity at levels that would warrant bioassay-directed fractionation in a drug-discovery screening program. Specifically, the oils did not show greater than 50% growth inhibition against Leishmania donovani , Plasmodium falciparum clones D6 and W2, Candida albicans , Escherichia coli , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Cryptococcus neoformans , Mycobacterium intracellulare , or Aspergillus fumigates at 50 μg mL(-1).
A quantitative colorimetric assay using the oxidation-reduction indicator Alamar Blue was developed to measure cytotoxicity of compounds against the protozoan parasite Leishmania. Absorbance increased linearly with the plating density of promastigotes of L. major MRHO/IR/76 vaccine strain up to at least 2.5 x 10(6) cells/ml when parasites were incubated for 72 h in the presence of 10% Alamar Blue. The 50% effective dose values of common drugs (amphotericin B, pentostam and paromomycin) obtained by this assay were in the same range as previously determined by other methods. The Alamar Blue assay permits a simple, reproducible and reliable method for screening antileishmanial drugs.
A controlled environment experiment was conducted to determine the effect of amending soil with various rates of high-Cu compost (0, 20, 40, and 60% compost/soil by volume) on dill (Anethum graveolens L.) and peppermint (Mentha X piperita L.) yields, on fractionation of Cu and Zn in soils, on elemental composition of soil and tissue, and on the essential oils. The compost contained about 2000 mg kg(-)(1) of Cu. Dill yields were greatest in the 20 or 40% treatments, but peppermint yields were greatest in the 20% treatment. Compost additions increased soil pH and electrical conductivity (EC), HNO(3) extractable soil B, Ca, K, Mg, Mn, P, S, Na, and Pb. Additions of high-Cu compost to soil increased tissue P, S, and Na in both crops and Mn, Mo, and Zn in dill but decreased tissue Ca, Cd, and Fe in both crops and Mn, Mo, and Zn in peppermint, increased Cu in all soil fractions including exchangeable, and increased tissue Cu of dill and peppermint as compared to unamended soil. Addition of 60% of high-Cu compost to soil resulted in 760-780 mg kg(-)(1) Cu in the growth medium. Nevertheless, Cu content in both crops reached only 12 mg kg(-)(1) DW in the 60% compost treatment, which is below the toxicity levels for plants and below the upper chronic dietary exposure for animals. The application of high-Cu compost altered chemical composition of dill and peppermint essential oils, but oils were free of Cu, Zn, Cd, Ni, Cr, and Pb. Results from this study suggest that mature composts with concentrations of Cu and Zn of 2008 and 321 mg/kg, respectively, can be used as a soil conditioner without risk for phytotoxicity or risk of increasing the normal range of Cu and Zn in crop tissue. However, the long-term effect of the accumulation of heavy metals in soils following repeated compost applications needs to be carefully considered.
Autoxidation of methyl linoleate (8:2 mixture with decane, 37 degrees C) was induced by 2,2'-azobis(2,4-dimethylvaleronitrile) (AMVN, 17.7 mM) and the kinetics of oxygen consumption monitored using a 96-well microplate coated with an oxygen-sensitive fluorescence probe, a ruthenium dye, embedded in a silicone matrix at the bottom of the microplate. The probe does not participate in the reaction; instead, its fluorescence intensity is inversely proportional to the solution oxygen concentration as it changes during oxidation. In the absence of antioxidants, the oxidation rate has a linear relationship with the square root of the initiator concentrations. This is in agreement with theoretical autoxidation kinetics equations. In the presence of tocopherol-type antioxidants, a sharp lag phase appears. The quantitation of the antioxidant capacity is achieved using the area under the curve (AUC) approach. The assay has a 2 h running time, a linearity range from 1.56 to 18.7 microM (Trolox), and a limit of quantitation at 2.7 microM Trolox equivalency. The peroxyl radical scavenging capacities of several cold-pressed and organically grown plant seed oils were quantified along with the tocopherol concentrations of the oils. Tocopherols contribute only a fraction of the peroxyl radical scavenging capacity of the oils, and there is poor correlation between total tocopherol concentrations and radical scavenging capacity, suggesting that the antioxidant capacity of oils is due not only to tocopherols but also to other lipid-soluble antioxidants.
In the present article, we examined the antileishmanial, antimalarial, antibacterial, and antifungal activities of several newly synthesized O-alkylated phloroglucinol compounds (11-19) which are analogues of the naturally occurring antimalarial compound 1. Analogues 12 and 16 exhibited antileishmanial activity against, Leishmania donovani promastigotes with IC(50)s of 5.3 and 4.2microg/mL, respectively. Naturally occurring monomeric formylated acylphloroglucinol compounds, grandinol (2), jensenone (3), and their analogues (29-37), were also synthesized and evaluated for antileishmanial, antimalarial, antibacterial, and antifungal activities. Amongst these, both grandinol and jensenone showed mild to moderate antibacterial, antifungal, and antileishmanial activities. Jensenone (3) was effective against Candida albicans with an IC(50) of 5.5microg/mL but was ineffective against Cryptococcus neoformans and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Among the analogues, 34 was the most active against C. albicans and C. neoformans with IC(50)s of 2.0 and 2.5microg/mL, respectively, and was fungicidal toward Candida albicans.
A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of cut on biomass productivity, oil content, composition, and bioactivity of Ocimum basilicum L. (cvs. German and Mesten) and Ocimum sanctum L. (syn. O. tenuiflorum L.) (cv. Local) in Mississippi. Yields of basil herbage and essential oil were high and comparable to those reported in the literature. Essential oil content of O. basilicum cv. German varied from 0.40 to 0.75%, the oil content of cv. Mesten varied from 0.50 to 0.72%, and the oil content of cv. Local (of O. sanctum) ranged from 0.17 to 0.50% in air-dried basil. Herbage and essential oil yields of cvs. German and Mesten of O. basilicum increased with the second and then again with the third cut, whereas herbage and oil yields of cv. Local of O. sanctum increased with the third cut relative to the previous cuts. Overall, essential oil yields were 115, 123, and 51 kg/ha for the cvs. German, Mesten, and Local, respectively. The major oil constituents of cvs. German and Mesten (of O. basilicum) were (-)-linalool (30-40%) and eugenol (8-30%), whereas the major oil constituents of cv. Local (of O. sanctum) were eugenol (8-43%) and methylchavicol (15-27%). Essential oils from both species grown in Mississippi showed in vitro activity against Leishmania donovani (IC50 = 37.3-49.6 microg/mL), which was comparable to the activity of commercial oil (IC50 = 40-50 microg/mL). Minor basil oil constituents (+)-delta-cadinene, 3-carene, alpha-humulene, citral, and (-)- trans-caryophyllene had antileishmanial activity, whereas other constituents were ineffective. None of the oil was cytotoxic to mammalian cells.
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