Composition of volatile in micropropagated and field grown aromatic plants from Tuscany Islands

Aromatic plant species present in the natural Park of Tuscany Archipelago are used as flavoring agents and spices, as dietary supplements and in cosmetics and aromatherapy. The plants are usually collected in wild field, inducing a depauperization of the natural habitat. Therefore, micropropagation of these aromatic plants can play a role for the protection of the natural ecosystem, can guarantee a massive production and can provide standardized plant materials for further economical purposes. The aim of this study is to compare the volatile organic compounds produced from the wild plants with the in vitro plantlets using headspace solid phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME), followed by capillary gas-chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Typical plants of this natural area selected for this work were Calamintha nepeta L., Crithmum maritimum L., Lavandula angustifolia L., Myrtus communis L., Rosmarinus officinalis L., Salvia officinalis L., Satureja hortensis L. Different explants have been used microcuttings with vegetative apical parts, axillary buds or internodes. Sterilization percentage, multiplication rate and shoot length, as well as root formation were measured. The volatile aromatic profiles produced from in vitro plantlets were correlated to that of the wild plants, in particular for C. maritimum, R. officinalis, S. officinalis and S. hortensis. This study indicated that the micropropagation technique can represent a valid alternative to produce massive and steril plant material characterised by the same aromatic flavour than the wild grown plants