In vitro growth optimization and essential oil composition of basil cultivars

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of the use of the Murashige & Skook (MS) and Linsmaer & Skoog (LS) media and of filter caps on culture flasks on the morphological and physiological characteristics of basil cultivars in vitro, as well as to determine the composition of the essential oil of plants acclimatized in pots. For the evaluation of the cultivation media, cultivars Anise, Cinnamon, Grecco a Palla, and Italian Large Leaf were used. The Anise, Cinnamon, Italian Large Leaf, and Maria Bonita cultivars were used for the evaluation of the use of filter caps. The composition of the essential oils of cultivars Anise, Cinnamon, and Italian Large Leaf was also evaluated. The basil seedlings showed a higher aerial-part dry mass and a lower hyperhydricity rate when grown in the MS medium. The flasks without filter caps produced seedlings with lower contamination rates. When acclimatized in pots, cultivars Limoncino and Anise presented the tallest plants with the largest crown diameters. In the composition of essential oils, methyl cinnamate and linalool stood out in cultivar Cinnamon, methyl chavicol in Anise, and linalool in Italian Large Leaf. In the in vitro cultivation, the evaluated cultivars present a higher aerial-part production in the MS medium and a lower contamination without the use of filters, whereas, in the pots, the composition of essential oils varies according to the cultivar.