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Planta Med 1992; 58(6): 558-561
DOI: 10.1055/s-2006-961550
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© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Genetic Variability of the Essential Oil Content of Melissa officinalis 1

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 I
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Publication History

1991

Publication Date:
05 January 2007 (online)

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Abstract

The essential oil content of various populations ofMelissa officinalis L. (Lamiaceae), cultivated under Mediterranean climatic conditions (Ebro-Delta, Spain) has been investigated during five years of selection and improvement of the genetic plant material. Starting with an essential oil content of 0.2-0.3%, a content of more than 0.5% was obtained as a result of genetic improvement. A weak negative correlation between the content of essential oil and phenotypical growth parameters such as the number of branches per plant and height was observed. No correlation between biomass production per plant and essential oil content could be found. By the method of hybridization, M. officinalis synthetics with a high yield of biomass and essential oil content were selected.

Key words

Melissa officinalis - essential oil - Mediterranean climate - genetic improvement

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