Articles
Identification of chemotypes of rosemary specimens (Salvia rosmarinus Schleid) from the IMIDRA collection
Article number
1458_12
Pages
91 – 98
Language
English
Abstract
The essential oil (EO) of rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus Schleid) holds significant potential in the cosmetic, food preservation, and pharmaceutical industries.
However, the majority of commercially available EO in Spain derives from wild populations, with few rosemary cultivations established from selected chemotypes (QT). The ornamental rosemary collection at IMIDRA, comprising 35 accessions, has been field-reproduced to obtain clones adapted to the edaphoclimatological conditions of Madrid and to identify QT with high EO yields that could constitute an economically viable alternative due to their market value.
The mother plant bank was vegetatively multiplied, cuttings were treated with rooting inductors, and were maintained in thermostatic tables with misting for three months.
Subsequently, they were potted and transferred to the field with localized support irrigation.
After nine months of growth, 10 individuals were selected based on their growth characteristics, uniformity, and health status.
Essential oil extraction from leaves and stems was performed by hydrodistillation with a Clevenger apparatus, determining the yield and chemical composition of the obtained EOs.
Winter yields range between 0.7 and 0.8% dry weight (d.w.), although three clones exceed 1.2% d.w.
Analysis of the EO composition identifies clones with high levels of verbenone (10.5%), alpha-pinene (38.8%), or limonene (24.7%), which do not conform to the rosemary QTs present in the market, such as the QT-camphor, QT-cineole, and QT-verbenone.
Our clones could represent a cultivation alternative for industries and farmers due to the high values of these molecules or the novel combination of compounds in the EOs.
However, the majority of commercially available EO in Spain derives from wild populations, with few rosemary cultivations established from selected chemotypes (QT). The ornamental rosemary collection at IMIDRA, comprising 35 accessions, has been field-reproduced to obtain clones adapted to the edaphoclimatological conditions of Madrid and to identify QT with high EO yields that could constitute an economically viable alternative due to their market value.
The mother plant bank was vegetatively multiplied, cuttings were treated with rooting inductors, and were maintained in thermostatic tables with misting for three months.
Subsequently, they were potted and transferred to the field with localized support irrigation.
After nine months of growth, 10 individuals were selected based on their growth characteristics, uniformity, and health status.
Essential oil extraction from leaves and stems was performed by hydrodistillation with a Clevenger apparatus, determining the yield and chemical composition of the obtained EOs.
Winter yields range between 0.7 and 0.8% dry weight (d.w.), although three clones exceed 1.2% d.w.
Analysis of the EO composition identifies clones with high levels of verbenone (10.5%), alpha-pinene (38.8%), or limonene (24.7%), which do not conform to the rosemary QTs present in the market, such as the QT-camphor, QT-cineole, and QT-verbenone.
Our clones could represent a cultivation alternative for industries and farmers due to the high values of these molecules or the novel combination of compounds in the EOs.
Authors
A. Sánchez-Gorostiaga, P.V. Mauri, J. Plaza-Ramos, C. Cano-Shaw, B. Stefanutti
Keywords
essential oil, food, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, cultivation
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