Micropropagazione di specie aromatiche dell'isola d'Elba

Elba island belong to the archipelago Toscano, the largest marine Park in Europe, influenced by the Mediterranean climate. Its vegetation is characterised by several aromatic species used as traditional food and cosmetics, in phytotherapy and aromatherapy. The plants are usually collected in wild field, inducing a impoverishment of the natural habitat The aim of this study is to utilize micropropagation technique, commonly used for massive production of plants, for the conservation of the germoplasm of selected species typical of these islands: Calamintha nepeta L., Crithmum maritimum L. Lavandula angustifolia Miller, Myrtus communis L., Nepeta cataria L., Rosmarinus officinalis L., Salvia officinalis L., Satureja hortensis L. The main type of explants used have been either microcutting (vegetative apical portions), in some case axillary buds, or internodes. After sterilization the explants were placed on suitable culture media for growth. Sterilization percentage and multiplication rate were measured, indicating that some wild plants were difficult to sterilize, but others were well in vitro propagated. The detection of head-space components produced from the in vitro plantlets looks similar to that known in wild type plants. Micropropagation of these aromatic plants will play a role for protection of ecosystem but also an additional use, as “babyplants“, a token gift for tourist customers.