Essential Oil Quality of Lavender Grown Outside Its Native Distribution Range: A Study from Serbia

Abstract

The aim of this study was to test the quality (physicochemical and sensory odor properties) and bioactivity (antimicrobial and antioxidant activities) of the essential oils (EO) obtained from the most frequently cultivated lavender and lavandin varieties in Serbia, whose cultivation areas were previously reserved for warmer climates, outside the agroecological region of Serbia. Seven EO from true lavenders (L. angustifolia Mill. and cultivars: ‘Hidcote blue’, ‘Munstead’, ‘Primorska’), Croatian indigenous lavandin cultivar (L. × intermedia ‘Budrovka’), lavandin ‘Grosso’ and one undetermined lavender sample (Lavandula sp.) showed compliance with standard requirements for lavender EO composition (contents of linalool 23.9–30.2% and 28.9–36.9%, and of linalyl acetate 22.2–32.2% and 6.9–20.7% in true lavender and lavandin samples, respectively). All EO were characterized as pleasant, with a floral aroma as a prominent odor. Samples exhibited high antimicrobial activities (3.5–14.2 µL mL−1 MIC and MBC values) against important Gram-positive (B. cereus and L. monocytogenes) and Gram-negative bacteria (E. coli) and yeasts (C. albicans), and high antioxidant capacity (IC50 values of 0.23–0.59 µg AAE mL−1 EO). This preliminary research on the quality of lavender EOs reveals the potential of this species for the future of medicinal and aromatic plant species production and further diversification of agriculture in the area.

Do Climate Conditions Affect the Quality of the Apiaceae Fruits’ Essential Oils?

“…Bearing in mind that climate change is inevitable, this issue should be given much more attention. This will certainly indicate a potential change in the area of cultivation, as is the case with Mediterranean species such as lavender and immortelle, which are now successfully cultivated in continental areas of Serbia [93,94].…”