Content and Composition of M. officinalis Oil in Relation to Leaf Position and Harvest Time1

T. Adzet; R. Ponz; E. Wolf; E. Schulte

doi:10.1055/s-2006-961551

Planta Medica, Table of Contents

Planta Med 1992; 58(6): 562-564
DOI: 10.1055/s-2006-961551

Papers

Content and Composition of M. officinalis Oil in Relation to Leaf Position and Harvest Time¹

T. Adzet¹ , R. Ponz² , E. Wolf³ , E. Schulte⁴

¹Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
²Centro de Recursos Fitogenéticos, Madrid, Spain
³MCM Klosterfrau GmbH & Co, D(W)-5000 Köln, Federal Republic of Germany
⁴Institute of Plant Production and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agronomy, University of Bonn, D(W)-5300 Bonn, Federal Republic of Germany

1 Investigations of the content and composition of essential oil of Melissa officinalis, Part II, for Part I, see: Adzet, T., Ponz, R., Wolf, E., Schulte, E. (1992) Planta Med. 58, 558-561

Abstract

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Abstract

The content and composition of the essential oil in the leaves of M. officinalis L. (Lamiaceae) cultivated under Mediterranean climatic conditions were investigated. Different leaf positions and different times of harvest during the year and during the day were considered. It was shown that in the terminal leaves, the content of essential oil was more than 0.1% higher than in the others. The results obtained also indicated a variation of the oil composition. The favourable climatic and environmental conditions of the Ebro-Delta in Spain permitted four harvests per year with a maximum of 0.4% essential oil in September. To reduce losses of volatile terpenoids, a harvest in the morning during summertime is recommended.

Key words

Melissa officinalis - Mediterranean climate - essential oil - citral - leaf position - harvest time

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