Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (15)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by D’Antuono, L. F.
Right arrow Articles by Bocchini, P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by D’Antuono, L. F.
Right arrow Articles by Bocchini, P.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by D’Antuono, L. F.
Right arrow Articles by Bocchini, P.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Annals of Botany 86: 471-478, 2000
© 2000 Annals of Botany Company

Variability of Essential Oil Content and Composition of Origanum vulgare L. Populations from a North Mediterranean Area (Liguria Region, Northern Italy)

L. Filippo D’Antuono+, Guido C. Galletti and Paola Bocchini

Dipartimento di Agronomia, Università di Bologna, Italy Dipartimento di Chimica ‘G. Ciamician’, Università diBologna, Italy Centro di Studio per la Fisica delle Macromolecole, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Bologna, Italy

Received: 17 February 2000 ; Returned for revision: 30 March 2000 . Accepted: 2 May 2000

Native populations of Origanum vulgare L. from the Liguria and Emilia regions of northern Italy were analysed for essential oil content and composition. Morphological characters suggested that the Ligurian samples belonged to the ssp. viride. The essential oil content of inflorescences ranged from less than 5 mg g-1in the samples from Emilia, to more than 50 mg g-1in some Ligurian samples, values similar to those reported for ssp. hirtum from southern Italy. Sixty-four compounds were identified in the essential oil. The samples were allotted to three main groups on the basis of oil composition: the first group had a high content of components belonging to the carvacrol/thymol biosynthetic pathway; the second was characterized by a different sesquiterpene composition and a high linalool content; and the third, including the two samples of ssp. vulgare from Emilia, was characterized by the presence of abundant sesquiterpenes. The high essential oil content of the samples studied, and the presence of some particular morphological characters suggest that the taxonomy of O. vulgare, especially in its western distribution area, needs further investigation. Linalool types, although often not considered as ‘typical oregano’, may be useful in promoting wider utilization of the biodiversity of this species. Copyright 2000 Annals of Botany Company

Oregano, Origanum vulgare L., ssp. viride, ssp. vulgare, ssp. hirtum, essential oil, gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, genetic resources, chemotypes, quality, Mediterranean


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.