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Planta Med 1992; 58(6): 562-564
DOI: 10.1055/s-2006-961551
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© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

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
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Publication History

1991

Publication Date:
05 January 2007 (online)

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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