The effect of different wavelengths on plants morphological characters is widely described [1–4], but the chemical composition of the essential oil is influenced by the lighting conditions the plant undergoes during growth, as well. In the present study, the effect of both the enrichment (reversed Emerson enrichment effect) and the monochromatic lighting treatments on the essential oil production and compositions of Petroselinum crispum (Mill.) Fuss samples have been analyzed on potted specimens. The extraction yield was 0.05% for all the samples, with a total of 66 identified volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The control sample showed a composition rich in myristicin, 1,3,8-pmenthatriene, β-phellandrene and apiole. Monoterpene hydrocarbons represented the most abundant VOC chemical class (over 50%), followed by phenylpropanoids (over 30%). Whilst the red-enrichment of the light spectrum did not induce major changes in the essential oil composition, the end of the day monochromatic red (660 nm) treatment caused a chemotype switch in the EO and relevant differences in the overall composition. The red-enriched sample, indeed, showed slight differences in the relative abundances of the same most relevant compounds. The EO of the sample grown under monochromatic light, instead, was mainly rich in (E,E)-α-farnesene, which was not detected in the other samples, and germacrene D, with a decrement of the monoterpene hydrocarbons and the total absence of phenylpropanoids, together with an increase in the relative abundances of sesquiterpenes (both oxygenated and hydrocarbon ones) and oxygenated monoterpenes. The light quality conditions are easy to modulate as needed: colored nets, fluorescent or LED lamps can be used to achieve different growth conditions. Different lighting conditions could be used as a tool to modulate the compounds present in the essential oil, but further studies are needed to assess the effects on different species and compounds.
Photochemical response of parsley essential oil to red light growth treatments
ASCRIZZI, ROBERTA;FLAMINI, GUIDO
2017-01-01
Abstract
The effect of different wavelengths on plants morphological characters is widely described [1–4], but the chemical composition of the essential oil is influenced by the lighting conditions the plant undergoes during growth, as well. In the present study, the effect of both the enrichment (reversed Emerson enrichment effect) and the monochromatic lighting treatments on the essential oil production and compositions of Petroselinum crispum (Mill.) Fuss samples have been analyzed on potted specimens. The extraction yield was 0.05% for all the samples, with a total of 66 identified volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The control sample showed a composition rich in myristicin, 1,3,8-pmenthatriene, β-phellandrene and apiole. Monoterpene hydrocarbons represented the most abundant VOC chemical class (over 50%), followed by phenylpropanoids (over 30%). Whilst the red-enrichment of the light spectrum did not induce major changes in the essential oil composition, the end of the day monochromatic red (660 nm) treatment caused a chemotype switch in the EO and relevant differences in the overall composition. The red-enriched sample, indeed, showed slight differences in the relative abundances of the same most relevant compounds. The EO of the sample grown under monochromatic light, instead, was mainly rich in (E,E)-α-farnesene, which was not detected in the other samples, and germacrene D, with a decrement of the monoterpene hydrocarbons and the total absence of phenylpropanoids, together with an increase in the relative abundances of sesquiterpenes (both oxygenated and hydrocarbon ones) and oxygenated monoterpenes. The light quality conditions are easy to modulate as needed: colored nets, fluorescent or LED lamps can be used to achieve different growth conditions. Different lighting conditions could be used as a tool to modulate the compounds present in the essential oil, but further studies are needed to assess the effects on different species and compounds.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
