Effect of potassium nutrition on essential oil of Calendula officinalis L. flowers

KA Ahmed

doi:10.1055/s-0031-1282382

Planta Medica, Inhaltsverzeichnis

Effect of potassium nutrition on essential oil of Calendula officinalis L. flowers

KA Ahmed ¹

¹Department of Cultivation and Production of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, National Research Centre, Dokki, Giza, Egypt

Abstract

Effects of potassium (K) by rates of 0.00 (control), 115.5, 173.2, 231.00, 288.7 and 346.4kg ha ^-1 on essential oil (EO) extracted from marigold (Calendula officinalis L.) flower heads were investigated by GC and GC/MS. The highest accumulation of EO (0.29% &0.095g plant^-1) was recorded at the treatment of 173.2kg ha^-1 compared with control treatment (0.13% &0.015g plant-1). 28 constituents were identified in the EO. The main constituents (α-cadinol, Δ-and γ -cadinene) increased with K level increased. The highest amount of main constituents [α-cadinol (33.11%), Δ-cadinene (18.41%), and γ -cadinene (9.99%)] produced from the 346.4kg ha^-1 treatment compared with other and control treatments. Alcohols are the major constituents of the heavy oxygenated compounds (HOC) of Calendula EO. α-Cadinol represents the highest concentration among the alcohols. This indicates that Calendula EO grown under K belongs to the α-cadinol chemotype.