Identification of the Genotype from the Content and Composition of the Essential Oil of Lemon Verbena (Aloysia citriodora Palau)

Abstract

Aloysia citriodora accessions from cultivated material, botanical collections, and wild populations were studied by means of their biomass and essential oil production and composition to assist the selection of the most promising genotype. The study was carried out through both field experiments during two year's time and laboratory processes. Data were evaluated by means of univariate and multivariate techniques. Aloysia citriodora intraspecific variation was accounted for by differences in both yield and chemical profiles of the essential oils, but no differences were found in the biomass production. Three chemotypes were identified according to qualitative and quantitative differences of the essential oils. For the higher contents of neral and geranial, Mendoza accession was the most promising to be encouraged for future crops.

Pharmacological and neuroprotective profile of an essential oil derived from leaves of A loysia citrodora Palau

“…All other components remained more or less unchanged both qualitatively and quantitatively. According to the literature, limonene is the component found to occur in highest quantities in EOs of the genus Lippia , followed by p‐cymene, α‐pinene, camphor, β‐caryophyllene, linalool and thymol in a decreasing order [18,19,24–34]. In our study, α‐pinene, α‐terpinene, sabinene, linalool and caryophyllene were also identified in low amounts.…”

“…The monoterpenoids limonene, geranial, neral and 1,8‐cineole have previously been reported as some of the main constituents of EOs from A. citrodora (including EOs documented from species described as synonyms for A. citrodora [14,24–27]. It is essential to characterise EOs investigated pharmacologically, as oil composition from a particular species may vary considerably due to various factors, including genetic and environment influences [28–34]…”

Biosynthesis of plant‐derived flavor compounds

“…The glandular trichomes of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) are rich in phenylpropenes as well as monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes (Iijima et al, 2004a). Lemonscented herbs of various plant families, such as lemon basil (Ocimum · citratus, Lamiaceae), lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus, Poaceae) and lemon verbena (Aloysia citriodora, Verbenaceae), accumulate citral, a mixture of the cis-trans isomeric monoterpene aldehydes neral and geranial (Lewinsohn et al, 1998;Iijima et al, 2004a,b;Gil et al, 2007). Therefore, many terpenoids are commercially important and are widely used as flavoring agents, perfumes, insecticides, anti-microbial agents and important raw material for the manufacture of vitamins and other key chemicals.…”

Comparison of essential oil composition and phenolic acid content of selected Salvia species measured by GC–MS and HPLC methods

“…However, the leaves of S. przewalskii and S. officinalis revealed a consistent chemotype based on the composition of essential oils. The chemical composition of Salvia essential oils depends on the tissue specificity and the genetic diversity of the plants, which strongly influence and regulate the essential oil biosynthesis under identical growth conditions (Gil et al, 2007;Lattoo et al, 2006). Furthermore, the essential oil composition of several Salvia species was similar, which was mostly due to the close phylogenetic relationship among the Salvia genus (Li et al, 2010).…”