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Review Article
The effect of environmental stress on qualitative and quantitative
essential oil of aromatic and medicinal plants
Nadia A. Abdelmajeed
1
, Enas N. Danial
1,2@
and Hasnaa S. Ayad
3

1- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Girls Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia
2-Chemistry of Natural and Microbial Products Department, National Research center, Cairo,
Egypt.,
3-Department of Botany, National Research Center, Cairo, Egypt.,
@.Author for correspondence (Email:enas_mahdy@yahoo.com(
Abstract
Essential oil helps to plant that easier adopt to the environmental stress
conditions: drought, intense radiation, high temperature and heavy metal contents.
Also, essential oils are not constant in the qualitative and quantitative terms. They are
changed continuously, due to the requirements of the environment, and to individual
survival. Concentrations and amount of essential oil depends on the external
environmental condition. Natural selection favors the survival of plants with the
higher concentration of essential oils. It means a higher adaptive value. In a variety of
stressful conditions. The role of essential oils is reflected in the importance of smell,
which on the other hand, enable the survival of one plant, for attracting pollinators, or
survival, as are other warning stimulus and refuse herbivore insects and surrender.
The aim of this study was to investigate adaptability to different stress
environmental condition on aromatic and medicinal plant. The goal was to measure to
quantity and quality of essential oil, as adaptability indicator, and to proof the
statement that the plants answer on environmental stress by production of essential
oil.
Key words: essential oils, environmental, aromatic, medicinal, plants.
Introduction:
Medicinal plant and aromatic plant are an accessible, affordable and culturally
appropriate source of primary health care for more than 80% of world's population.
Plant secondary metabolites have been a fertile area of chemical investigation for
many years, driving the development of both analytical chemistry and of new
synthetic reaction and methodologies. Metabolites which are produced routes other
than the normal metabolic pathways, mostly after the phase of active growth and
under conditions of deficiency and the biological significance of many secondary
metabolites is not exactly known (Aliabadi, 2010).
Essential oils are complex and highly variable mixtures of constituents that
belong to groups: Terpenoids and aromatic compounds. Hydrocarbons are almost
always present in monoterpenes (Levitt 1990). Although essential oils are comprised
of many types of compounds, the major ones are monoterpenes. The synthesis and
accumulation of essential oil structures are locted near the surface, glandular
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trichomes, secretory cavities or secretory canals of the plants. The impact of
environmental factors influence the composition of essential oils and quality essential
oils such as temperature, relative humidity, irradiance, photoperiod, wind, soil
properties, fertilization and harvest time.
Sources of environmental stress for quality and quantity of essential oil
medicinal and aromatic plants.
A. Physical stress
1- Temperature and drying method (Mechanical method)
2- Drought
3- Soil type and irrigation
4- Light intensity and wind
5- Radiation
B. Chemical stress
1- Salinity
2- pH of soil solution ad fertilization
3- Chemical composition
4- Toxins
A-Physical stress
1-The effect of temperature, drying and extraction methods on quality and
quantity of essential oil of medicinal and aromatic plants.
Temperature stress had significant effect on flowering shoot yield, essential oil
yield and percentage of coriander and highest all plant characteristics were achieved
under without stress condition, but highest oil percentage was achieved under
temperature stress condition ( Aliabadi et al., 2008)Certain factors including
chamomile varieties (Germania, Gorel and Bodegold) and temperature (12, 15, 20 and
25C during seedling stage till planting the high temperature significantly decreased
the plants characteristics. Although the low temperature treatment significantly
increased biological yield, flower yield and essential oil percentage. There for, the
selection of varieties that performs well over a wide range of environments can
increases essential oil yield of chamomile plants (Ahmed et al., 2011b).
Farahani et al., (2009) reported that the combination of 12-3h photoperiod
and 25-18C thermo period resulted in the highest levels of -bisabolol in chamomile
recutital (L) Rausch. Also, bud or flower formation was only induced in treatments
with photoperiods 17h. The effect of drying temperature affected the essential oil.
The effect of different stabilizing techniques on the composition of essential
oil of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) and thyme (Thymus officinalis L.) during
one year of storage The study was aimed to know what is the stabilizing technique to
keep at the best the original essential oil composition for 12 months. All the samples
were hydrodistilled every three months and the oils composition was obtained by
means of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Quantification of known
compounds was done with the use of an internal standard. Freezing best maintained
the composition of rosemary and thyme essential oil. Appropriate packaging of air-
dried and freeze-dried herbs resulted in negligible quality loss up to one year of
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storage. The frozen and stored thyme samples showed the best retention of thymol,
the most important compound, as well as of -terpinene and carvacrol.
Drying methods effecting the essential oil with , Sefidkon et al., (2006)
reported that there is no differences between shade ( 22-25C) and oven (45C) drying
methods on essential oil content Satureja hortensis. These opposite results may be due
to differences in plant species, secretory structures and their position in plant body
and chemical composition of essential oil. Essential oil content of piper
hispidinervium was affected by removal of moisture from leaves drying resulted in a
higher essential oil content for temperatures up to 50C. but for drying temperature
above 50C, this parameter was decreased. In aromatic plants, it beginning of drying,
moisture moves by diffusion to the leaf surfaces and drags essential oil with it. The
proposed mechanism explains the essential oil. The highest yield of the essential oil
was obtained from the herb Mentha longifolia (L.) which was dried at low
temperature (1.1%) and the lowest from that dried in the laboratory oven (0.6%). The
biggest content of the dominant component of essential oils, piperitone, was recorded
in the oil from low temperaturedried herb (71.7%), while those isolated from naturally
dried drug and in from the laboratory oven contained piperitone in lower
concentrations (50.8% and 43.1%, respectively) Stanisavljevi (2011).
Tarhan et al.,(2010) The rotary drum dryer (Fig. 1) was programmed to
operate under two different drying schemes: constant air temperature drying and
rectangular wave-shaped drying air temperature profiles. The drying durations were
1518 h and 1215 h for constant temperature profile and rectangular wave-shaped
temperature profiles, respectively. Hot air drying caused considerable darkening of
the dried peppermint leaves. Essential oil contents of peppermint samples dried by the
two different drying procedures were relatively unaffected by drying scheme (2.08
2.7 mL 100 g dry matter
1
). The menthol content of the leaves increased from 32.52%
(fresh) up to 44.52% (dried), their menthone content decreased from 24.85% (fresh)
down to 9.07% (dried). However, the variations within replications were relatively
high in terms of the menthol (25.3944.52%) and menthone (9.0718.49%) contents
of the dried leaves. These variations might have been caused by the uncontrolled
morphological and physiological changes of the fresh peppermint materials associated
with their maturity. These variations are the main obstacle to obtaining reproducible
results and therefore dried peppermint products with consistent quality. The specific
energy consumption values ranged from 7.88 to 15.08 MJ (kg water removed)
1
.
Daily fluctuations in ambient air conditions directly affected the specific energy
consumption of rotary drum dryer.

Fig (1): Rotary drum dryer
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Microwave Clevenger or microwave accelerated distillation (MAD) (Fig 2) is
a combination of microwave heating and distillation, performed at atmospheric
pressure without added any solvent or water. Isolation and concentration of volatile
compounds are performed by a single stage. MAD extraction of orange essential oil
was studied using fresh orange peel from Valencia late cultivar oranges as the raw
material. MAD has been compared with a conventional technique, which used a
Clevenger apparatus with hydro-distillation (HD). MAD and HD were compared in
term of extraction time, yields, chemical composition and quality of the essential oil,
efficiency and costs of the process. Extraction of essential oils from orange peels with
MAD was better in terms of energy saving, extraction time (30 min versus 3 h),
oxygenated fraction (11.7% versus 7.9%), product yield (0.42% versus 0.39%) and
product quality. Orange peels treated by MAD and HD were observed by scanning
electronic microscopy (SEM). Micrographs provide evidence of more rapid opening
of essential oil glands treated by MAD, in contrast to conventional hydro-distillation
(Asma et al.,2010).

Fig(2): Microwave Clevenger
The microwave steam diffusion (MSDf) (Fig 3) apparatus for extraction of
essential oils from orange peel (by-products) was studied. MSDf has been compared
with conventional steam diffusion (SDf). A response surface methodology (RSM) was
realised to investigate the influence of process variables by a central composite design
(CCD) approach. The statistical analysis revealed that the optimal conditions for the
extraction of orange essential oil were a steam mass flow rate of 25 g min1 and a
microwave power of 200 W. Cytohistological investigations using light microscopy
provided evidences for rapid and pronounced cell and tissue alterations of oil glands
with MSDf in comparison with SDf. The essential oils extracted by MSDf for 12 min
were quantitatively (yield) and qualitatively (aromatic profile) similar to those
obtained by SDf for 40 min. Extraction of essential oils from orange peel with MSDf
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was better than SDf in terms of energy saving, cleanliness and reduced waste water
(Asma et al.,2010).

Fig(3): Schematic diagram of the experimental apparatus of microwave
steam diffusion (MSDf)
Ennajar et al., (2010) used sun-drying, shade-drying and oven-drying at
45 C to study the effects on yield and chemical composition of Juniperus
phoenicea L. essential oils. The authors concluded that drying of berries of
J.phoenicea in oven-drying is more suitable and is recommended for
obtaining higher yield of essential oils; for higher percentages of some
special components, however, such as -pinene and -3-carene, shade-drying
was more suitable.
Dragana et al., (2010) reported that the biggest content of the dominant
component of essential oil from herb Mentha Longifoslia, piperitone was recorded in
the oil from low temperature 35C dried herb (71.7%), while those isolated from
naturally dried drug and inform the laboratory over at 45C contained piperitone in
lower concentrations (50.8% and 43.1%). It is suggested that this herb should be
oven-dried or cooked befor consumption in order to reduce toxicity. Ionic liquid-
based microwave-assisted extraction (ILMAE) has been successfully applied in
extracting essential oil and four kinds of biphenyl cyclooctene lignans from
Schisandra chinensis Baill. 0.25 M 1-lauryl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ionic
liquid is selected as solvent. The optimum parameters of dealing with 25.0 g sample
are 385 W irradiation power, 40 min microwave extraction time and 1:12 solidliquid
ratio. The composition of the essential oil extracted by hydro-distillation, steam-
distillation and ILMAE is analyzed by GCMS. With ILMAE method, the energy
consumption time has not only been shortened to 40 min (hydro-distillation 3.0 h for
extracting essential oil and reflux extraction 4.0 h for extracting lignans, respectively),
but also the extraction efficiency has been improved (extraction of lignans and
distillation of essential oil at the same time) and reduces the environmental pollution.
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Micrographs provide more evidence to prove that ILMAE is a better and faster
method. The experimental results also indicate that ILMAE is a simple and efficient
technique for sample (Chun et al., 2011).

2-Affecting drought on quality and quantity of essential oils.
Nowadays water deficit or drought is known as an important limiting factor of
yield increase in arid and semiarid regions and growth increase is much greater under
water deficit than that under other environmental stresses, water deficit is one the
major a biotic stresses. The results showed that drought stress influenced the essential
oil content of Lemon catmint and Lemon balm, but not of sage, with 250h pa resulting
higher amount of essential oils, 50h pa provided high yield off essential oil for all
three species due to the high fresh herbal biomass plant (Iness et al 2012)
Farahani et al,( 2009 ) indicated that drought stress motivated a significant
reduction in all of growth parameters of Mentha piperita L and essential oil yield and
percent. The highest values of menthol were obtained under 70 % yield capacity by
using (GC- MS).
The result of Rahbariana et al,( 2010 ) showed that the water stress
significantly decreased relative water content from 77.69% uder mild stress under
severe stress. RWC increased as manure level increased. As stress was intensified,
the electrolyte leakage increased, but it started to increase under severe stress. The
manure treatment of 40 t/ha had the greatest electrolyte leakage (328.89 ds.m
-1
). The
main components of the oil of Tagestes minuta L. were monoterpenes of which trans
cis tagetone together were 52.3%-64.2%. Drought significantly altered the content of
some oil components. Drought stress is characterized by reduction of water content,
diminished leaf water potential and turyor loss, closure of stomata and decrease in cell
enlargement and growth. Severe water stress may result in the arrest of
photosynthesis, disturbance of metabolism and finally the death of plant (Jaleel et al.,
2008a).
Water stress inhibits cell enlargement more than cell division. It reduces plant
growth by affecting varios physiological and biochemical processes, such as
photosynthesis, respiration, translocation, ion uptake, carbohydrates, nutrient
metabolism and growth promoters (Jaleel et al., 2008a,b, Faroog et al., 2008 and
Hendawy and Khalil, 2005).
Azizi et al.,(2008a) To compare the response of oregano (Origanum vulgare
L.) populations to soil moisture regimes, a greenhouse experiment with three
populations of oregano cultivated in Germany (O. vulgare var. creticum, O. vulgare
ssp. hirtum, O. vulgare var. samothrake). The population of O. vulgare var.
samothrake showed a stable dry matter yield with higher essential oil content than the
populations of O. vulgare var. creticum and O. vulgare ssp. hirtum. Water deficiency
after beginning of blooming (folded flowers) can induce an increase in essential oil
content and thus result in higher quality of oregano herbage and higher water use
efficiency of oregano plants.
The effects of water deficit on vegetative growth, fatty acids and essential oil
yield and composition of Salvia officinalis aerial parts were investigatedby ( Belaqziz
et al., 2009). Results showed important reductions of the different growth parameters.
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Drought decreased significantly the foliar fatty acid content and the double bond
index (DBI) degree.
A field experiment was evaluate the effect of drought stress on agro-
morphological characters (fresh flower weight, dried flower yield, shoot weight and
root weight), oil content, oil composition and apigenin content of chamomile. Drought
stress had four different levels of soil moisture depletion (30%, 50%, 70% and 90%).
Analysis of variance showed that drought stress decreased plant height, flower yield,
shoot weight and apigenin content but it had no significant effect on oil content or oil
composition. Impacts of drought stress on growth indices were evaluated as well and
the results indicated that plant managed to maintain potential for biomass production
under the drought stress. Growth analysis results as well as phytochemical properties
of this plant showed that despite decrease in agronomical traits, chamomile could be
proposed as a moderate drought resistant medicinalplant with a reasonable
performance (Baghalian et al., 2011).
Rajeswara (2002 ) the yield components, fatty acid, essential oil compositions
and phenolic contents fruit essential oil composition and the total phenolic amounts as
well as the antioxidant activities of cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) seeds under
drought. This plant is one of the most common aromatics in the Mediterranean
kitchen. The results indicated that MWD improved the number of umbels per plant as
well as the number of umbellets per umbel and the seed yield, in comparison to the
control, but it decreased under severe water deficit (SWD). Fatty acid composition
analysis indicated that petroselinic acid was the major fatty acid (55.9%) followed by
palmitic (23.82%) and linoleic (12.40%) acids. Water deficit enhanced the palmitic
acid percentage and affected the double bound index of the fatty acid pool and thus
the oil quality. The essential oil yield was 1.64% based on the dry weight and
increased by 1.40 folds under moderate water deficit (MWD). Nevertheless it
decreased by 37.19% under SWD in comparison to the non treated seeds. Drought
results on the modification of the essential oil chemotype from -terpinene/phenyl-1,2
ethanediol in the control seeds to -terpinene/cuminaldehyde in stressed ones.
Besides, total phenolic contents were higher in the treated seeds (MWD and SWD).
Results suggest that water deficit treatment may regulate the production of bioactive
compounds in cumin seeds, influencing their nutritional and industrial values.
Besides, antioxidant activities of the extracts were determined by four different test
systems, namely DPPH, -carotene/linoleic acid chelating and reducing power assays
and showed that treated seeds (MWD and SWD) exhibited the highest activity.
3-Affecting soil type, irrigation and planting density on quality and quantity off
essential oils:
The environmental stresses are major Limiting factors in crop production
because, they affect almost all plant function. The plant grown in calcareous soil and
irrigated every 3 days showed the highest values for plant growth, plant irrigated
every 10 days gave the highest relative percentage of Thymol, which reached 71.32,
50.68 and 47.71% in sandy, calcareous and clay loam soil, respectively. This effect
was accompanied with decrease in p- cymene content. The rat of transformation of P-
cymene to phenolic compound thymol is higher of Thymus vulgaris under stress
conditions (Aziz et al., 2008b).
Thyme is cultivated in rows of 50 cm apart with inter-row spacing of 15, 30 or
45 cm. Plants are harvested in three stages, i.e. the beginning of blooming, full
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blooming and fruit set. In order to study the effects of plants space and time of
harvesting, plant height, plant diameter, yields of dry and fresh herbage, content (%)
and yield of oil, thymol and carvacrol were measured. The maximum yield of dry and
fresh herbage, yield and content of oil and thymol yield were obtained in 15 cm space
and beginning of blooming stage. Maximum thymol content was observed in the
beginning of blooming and 45 cm space. However, 15 cm spacing and harvesting in
the beginning of blooming was the best treatment in respect of yield of dry matter, oil
and thymol per unit area (Hassanali et al., 2004).
An experiment was undertaken to determine the herbage biomass and oil
production of thyme (Thymus vulgaris Linn.) and hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis Linn.)
in 2003 and 2004 in the semi-arid region of Khorasan in Iran. The experiment was a
split plot with three irrigation intervals as main plots and three planting densities as
subplots, all of which replicated three times. Irrigation intervals consisted of 7, 14,
and 21 days for both crops and planting densities of 6.6, 8, and 10 (plants m
2
) for
thyme and 5, 6.6, and 8 (plants m
2
) for hyssop. Different planting densities were
employed by changing planting distances on cultivation rows. Herbage biomass and
oil production of shoots, harvested at flowering were measured as annual production
of each crop. Irrigation intervals did not change total harvested herbage biomass and
oil production of both crops. Averaged across both years of the experiment, thyme
produced higher oil than hyssop. Both crops produced higher biomass and oil in the
second year of the experiment compared to the first year. While thyme plants biomass
and oil production were lower at the highest planting density, hyssop plants showed
no response to planting density. Herbage biomass and oil production of hyssop did not
show a clear trend in response to interaction of irrigation intervals and planting
densities in both years of the experiment. The results showed that there is a high
potential for saving water through longer irrigation intervals (e.g. 14 days) using
locally adapted plants in the semi-arid conditions of Khorasan. These crops serve as
alternative sources of income in dry years (Khazaie et al.,2008).
Ahmad et al., (2011a) reported that three irrigation times with manure
treatment caused the highest amount of cumin aldehyde and P-cymene and the lowest
of -pinene, - terpinene and - pinene. Similar results were observed by Sarah et
al.,(2011) for flixweld significant effects on physiological and morphological features
under irrigation regimes. The means compression obtained that highest essential oil
content was achieved by kadostim under irrigation interrupted from seed filling stage.
The highest oil percentage of flowering shoot was achieved under water stress
conditions of coriander plants. Maximum yield of dry flower (5.22g/pot) and essential
oil yield (39.514mg/pot) obtained from irrigation at 85% yield capacity of chamomile
(Aliabadi et al., 2008).
A field study on purple basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) was carried out to determine
the effect of different irrigation water levels in 2007 and 2008 in the research field of
Ege University, Faculty of Agriculture, in Turkey. Four irrigation treatments were
determined as the irrigation water being needed to raise root zone soil water to field
capacity (I
100
: 100%, at field capacity) and a percentage of water applied to I
100

treatment (I
50
: 50%, I
75
: 75% and I
125
: 125% of field capacity). The effect of different
irrigation water levels on purple basil's plant height, green herb yield, drug herb yield,
and drug leaf yield, the irrigation water use efficiency, essential oil ratio, and
composition of essential oil were evaluated (Sidika etal 2012 and Ekren et al., 2013)
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4-Affecting light intensity and wind on quality and quantity of essential oils
Field experiments in which plots of caraway were shaded at different levels
showed that there was a highly significant correlation between the light intensity
during flowering and essential oil content for a 5-year period there was appositive
correlation between the cumulative global radiation from March 1 to July 1 and
essential oil content (Toxopeus and Bouweester 1993). Interestingly, in the shading
experiments by Bouwmeester et al., (1995). Although essential oil content decreased
with shading level, Limonene content was not affected, whereas carvone content
strongly decreased. As a consequence, the carvone/Limonent ratio decreased with a
decrease in light intensity, because The basic precursors of the terpenes must be
formed from carbohydrates, but also energy is required for the generation of cofactors
such as ATP and NADPH (Fig 4). Indeed the preferential stimulation of carvone
accumulation by increased assimilate supply supports an important role of cofactor
availability, in this case NADPH.


Toxopeus and Bowineester (1993) reported a negative carrelation between
the average wind velocity from May 21 until July 15 and essential oil content of seed
lost of caraway. Thisbmay support a role of volatilization in determining essential oil
content.
Bouwmeester et al., (1995) have measured the volatilization of limonene and carvone
from seed of cara way and estimated the total of these compounds due to
volatilization to be about 2% for limonene and 1% for carvone.
5-Affecting radiation on quality and quantity of essential oil
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Enhanced UV-B radiation had no effect on total stem length, photochemical
efficiency of PS11, chlorophyll content, UV-B absorbing capacity of epicuticular and
internal compounds photosynthetic capacity at 5% CO
2
and relative water content of
two chemotypes of mint chemotype 11 was particulary responsive, increasing the
number pf seed by 100% (Wen and Lars 2009).
The aromatic species M. spicata is not only resistant to enhanced UV-B
radiation, but some chemo types may be selectively benefited through increased
reproductive effort .No effect was found on the qualitative composition of the
essential oils, whereas the quantitative composition was slightly modified in
chemotype I. This is the first investigation reporting an improved essential oil content
under UV-B supplementation in aromatic plants under field conditions
(Grammatikopoulos et al., 1998).



B- Chemical stress
1-The effect of salinity on quality and quantity of essential oils:
Soil salinity resulting from natural processes or from crop irrigation with
saline water, occurs in many arid and semi-arid regions of world (Lachli and
Epstein, 1990). According to Munns, 2003 20% of cultivated Lands are adversely
affected by high salt concentration worldwide, which inhibits plant growth and yield.
An excess of soluble salts in the soil leads to osmotic stress, specific ion toxicity and
imbalances and the consequences of these can be plant death or yield losses in both
crop species and medicinal plants (Rout and Shaw, 2001).
Ashraf et al., (2004) found that increasing salt concentration caused a
significant reduction in the fresh and dry masses of both shoots and roots as well as
seed yield of Ammolei majus while reduced plant fresh and dry yield in Hyoscyamus
niger. Razmjoo et al., (2008) found that chemical did tolerate 84 m mol NaCl and 4
days interval irrigation without severe reduction in flower yield and oil content. The
ability to limit Na
+
accumulation in the rapidly growing shoot tissues, is critically
important for maintenance of high growth rates and protection of the metabolic
process in elongating cells from the toxic effects of Na
+
. Specific ion toxicity of the
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Na
+
and Cl
+
ions to cell membrane, cytoplasm or nucleus of the cells may partly be
related to the fact that NaCl was greatly inhibitory to the growth.
There are contradictory reports in the literature as to the response of essential
oil to salt stress. According to Ashraf and Orooj (2006), salt stress decreased
essential oil yield in Trachyspermum ammi. This negative effect of salt stress in oil
yield was also reported for other medicinal plants, e.g. Mentha piperita (Tabatabaie
and NaZari, 2007); peppermint, pennyroyal, and apple mint (Aziz et al., 2008b);
Thymus maroccanus (Belaqziz et al., 2009), basil (Said-Al Ahl and Mahmoud,
2010). Besides, salinity decreased the essential oil yield, Abd El-Wahab (2006) on
fennel observed that anethole percentage was reduced with saline water. Baatour et
al. (2010) on marjoram reported that the proportions of the main compounds were
differently affected by salt. While, in Matricaria recutita, the main essential oil
constituents (-bisabololoxide B, -bisabolonoxide A, chamazulene, -bisabolol
oxide A, -bisabolol, trans- farnesene) showed an increasing under saline
condition (Baghalian et al., 2008). Also, Said-Al Ahl and Hussein (2010) of
Origanum vulgare found that the main essential oil constituents (carvacrol), decreased
under salt stress, while (p-cymene and terpinene) contents increased under non- salt
stress treatments. Similar results of an inhibitory effect of high level of salinity were
also found by Ozturk et al. (2004) on lemon balm, Shalan et al. (2006) on Majorana
hortensis, Razmjoo et al. (2008) on Matricaria chamomile, Ben et al. (2010) on
salvia officinalis and Said-Al Ahl et al. (2010) on basil. The yield of essential oil
increase due to lower levels of salinity has been reported in other plant species, e.g.
Satureja hortensis (Baher et al., 2002); Salvia officinalis (Hendawy and Khalid,
2005). The essential oil yield of coriander leaves was stimulated only under low and
moderate stress, while it decreased at the high salinity level. At low stress, (E)-2-
decenal, (E)-2-dodecenal and dodecanal contents increased (Neffati and Marzouk
2008). Ben et al. (2010) on salvia officinalis hence, viridiflorol was the main essential
oil compound at control and 25 mM NaCl, 1,8-cineole became the predominant
compound at 50 and 75 mM and manool prevailed at 100 mM.
However, Said-Al Ahl et al. (2010) on basil reported that, the major
components of the essential oil of Ocimum basilicum var. purpurascens were eugenol
and linalool. Soil salinity at 1500 and 4500 mg kg-1 levels increased the content of
linalool and, on the contrary, there was a decrease in eugenol content by using 1500
and 4500 mg kg-1 of soil salinity.
Flower heads of Calendula officinalis L. are used for medicinal or culinary
purposes. The essential oil (EO) content and its main components (-cadinol, - and
-cadinene). Fresh and dry weights of flower heads and EO increased near 81 DABF
while the content of pigments increased by 111 DABF(Khalid et al., 2010). There are
reports of an increase in essential oil % due to lower levels of salinity was also found
by Baher et al. (2002) on Satureja hortensis; Hendawy and Khalid (2005) on sage;
Ezz El-Din et al. (2009) on thyme. Said-Al Ahl and Mahmoud (2010) of basil
showed that highest oil percentage was achieved under salinity condition. In contrast,
other reports showed a significant reduction of essential oil %, Ozturk et al. (2004)
on lemon balm; Shalan et al. (2006) on sweet marjoram (Majorana hurtensis L.)
Najafi et al. (2010) in savory (Satureja hortensis), and the highest amount of
carvacrol and the lowest amount of -terpinene were obtained by increasing the
salinity levels.
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In arid and semi-arid regions, where water availability is a major limitation in
crop production, using alternative water resources, such as saline water is one way to
utilize lands. Chamomile (Matricaria recutita L.) as an annual medicinal herb may be
considered as an economic substitute for field crops irrigated with fresh water since it
has adaptability to wide range of climate and soil. A field examination was conducted
during 20042005 using complete randomized block design with four replications in
order to evaluate the effects of saline irrigation water on morphological characters,
mineral content, oil quantity (content, yield), oil composition and apigenin content of
chamomile. In each plot, 0.6 g/m
2
of seeds were grown in 4 rows. The irrigation water
had five different salinity levels (0, 4, 8, 12 and 16 dS m
1
). The investigated
characters through cultivation were fresh weight of flower (g), dry weight of flower
(g), dry weight of aerial stems (g), dry weight of root (g), oil yield (kg/h), oil content
(%), oil quality and apigenin content (%). After harvesting, the content of minerals
(Na
+
, Cl

, K
+
, Ca
2+
, Mg
2+
) were evaluated in aerial parts and roots of each plot. The
results showed that chamomile is able to maintain all its medical properties, under
saline condition and could be cultivated economically in such conditions Baghalian
et al .,(2008).
However, Neffati and Marzouk (2009) found that essential oil yield was
increased significantly with increasing NaCl concentrations of coriander roots.
Petropoulos et al. (2009) reported that raising the EC with NaCl increased the yield
of essential oil from curly-leafed parsley, and the contents of aroma constituents (-
phellandrene, myristicin, -myrcene and apiole) of the foliar essential oil were
affected by salt stress. Also, Said-Al Ahl et al. (2010) demonstrated that essential oil
(%) and oil yield (ml plant -1) were significantly increased by using 1500 mg kg-1 of
soil salinity compared to control. On the contrary, there was significant decrease in
this regard by using higher level of soil salinity, at 4500mgkg-1. In contrast, Ansari
et al. (1998) suggested that essential oil content and yield decreased with water
salinity increasing in three Cymbopogon species.
The stimulation of essential oil production under a moderate degree of salinity could
be due to a higher oil gland density and an increase in the absolute number of glands
produced prior to leaf emergence (Charles et al., 1990). Salt stress may also affect the
essential oil accumulation indirectly through its effects on either net assimilation or
the partitioning of assimilate among growth and differentiation processes. Also,
Penka (1978) showed that the formation and accumulation of essential oil in plants
was attributable to the action of environmental factors. It might be claimed that the
formation and accumulation of essential oil was directly dependent on perfect growth
and development of the plants producing oils. The decrease in oil production might be
due to the decrease in plant anabolism. Morales et al. (1993) suggested that an
increase in oil content in some of the salt stressed plants might be attributed to decline
the primary metabolites due to the effects of salinity, causing intermediary products to
become available for secondary metabolites synthesis. In fact, the effect of salinity on
essential oil and its constituents may be due to its effects of enzyme activity and
metabolism (Burbott and Loomis, 1969).
2-The effect of fertilization and pH soil solution on quality and quantity of
essential oils
Chemical fertilizers just provide one or some essential elements for plants,
while organic fertilizer provides more micro and macro nutrients (Saboor 2004).
Archives Des Sciences Vol 66, No. 4;Apr 2013
112 ISSN 1661-464X

Manure in soil prepares essential elements and increase quality and quantity of plant
products. The highest amount of cumin aldhyde and p-cymene with manure treatment
(Ahmad et al., 2011a). Relative water content increased as manure level increased.
The manure treatment of 40 t/ha had the greatest electrolyte leakage of dragon
hand,(Rahbarian et al., 2010). The maximum of herb fresh and essential oil yields
were obtained from oregano plants irrigated with 90% available soil moisture fresh
water combind with potassium humate fertilizer 1.5 pot
-1
, while, essential oil %
recorded their maximum value from irrigated with 60% ASM fresh water combined
with 1.59/Pot
-1
K-humate (Said-Al Ahl and Hussein 2010).
Using organic fertilizer treatment to raise the tolerant of this plant to stress
conditions of salinity and also to provide information on the composition of volatile
oil of origano, accelerate cell division, increased root growth and all plant organs
(Said-Al Ahi et al 2010).
Azizi et al (2008a) found that the effect of 2.5gm
-2
nitrogen fertilizer, 120
plants m
-2
plant density and moderate climate- yiled quantity and quality of seed
essential oil of cumin and these increase of the oil yields by N-fertilization up to
6.0gm-2 level and a decrease in higher N level did not show any considerable effect
on the oil. Mohamed and Abdu, 2004 under different type of fertilization by
increasing both fruit yield and volatile oil percentage, organic fertilizers considerably
increased oil yield. Chicken manure fertilized plants irrigated five or six times gave
the highest volatile oil yields of 2.08 and 2.09 ml plants
-1
, followed by cattle manure
fertilized plants irrigated 5 times (1.98 ml plant
-1
).
Sotiropoulou and Karamanos (2010) The effects of four levels of nitrogen
application (0, 40, 80, and 120 kg ha
1
) on plant growth traits, biomass yield, oil
concentration and oil yield of Greek oregano (Origanum vulgare ssp. hirtum (Link)
Ietswaart) during three cultivation periods following field establishment were
examined. The number of stems, branches and inflorescences per plant, dry matter
and oil yield were significantly affected by nitrogen levels above 40 kg ha
1
, showing
an optimum mostly at 80 kg of N ha
1
.
Rajeswara (2011) A field investigation was carried out for 2 years (1994
1996) on a red sandy loam soil in the semi-arid tropical climate of South India, to
study the influence of different levels of farm yard manure (FYM) (0 and 15 t/ha per
year) and fertilizer nitrogen (0, 40, 80 kg N/ha per year) on the biomass and essential
oil yields of palmarosa (Cymbopogon martinii (Roxb.) Wats. var. motia Burk., family,
Poaceae) grown under rainfed condition. During the period of investigation,
palmarosa gave seven harvests in 2 years with 23.637.2 t/ha total (total of seven
harvests) biomass yield, and 99.2159.1 kg/ha total essential oil yield per hectare.
Application of FYM at 15 t/ha per year increased the total biomass yield by 10.7%
and total essential oil yield by 10.3% over control (no application of FYM). Addition
of nitrogen (N) at 80 kg/ha per year enhanced the total biomass yield by 57.6% and
total essential oil yield by 60.3% in comparison to no N application. The quality of the
essential oil with 1.7% (E)--ocimene, 2.5% linalool, 73.1% geraniol, 15.8% geranyl
acetate and 2.0% -caryophyllene was found to be good and was readily accepted in
the market.
Ali et al., (2009) In a field study, eight treatment combinations of two
variables of organic mulch (paddy straw at 7 t/ha and no mulch) and four levels of
fertilizer nitrogen (0, 80, 160 and 240 kg/ha) were examined to observe the effect of
organic mulching on N-use efficiency and essential oil yield in a multi-harvested
Archives Des Sciences Vol 66, No. 4;Apr 2013
113 ISSN 1661-464X

geranium crop.It was concluded from this study that use of an organic mulch with 160
kg N/ha proved better in terms of economising 80 kg N/ha to produce an economic
yield of 96.1 kg geranium oil from two harvests under subtropical conditions of the
north Indian plains. At 160 kg N/ha, paddy straw mulch application permitted the
geranium crop to produce 18.4 kg/ha more oil which gave an additional return of Rs.
53,600/ha than that of unmulched control. Paddy straw mulch and nitrogen
fertilization had no adverse effect on the quality of essential oil of geranium.
Hussein et al.,( 2006) Two experiments were carried out during two successive
seasons to investigate the response of Dracocephalum moldavica L. (dragonhead) to
various plant densities and compost applications. Compost levels had a promoting
influence on most of vegetative growth parameters and accelerated essential oil
accumulation and chemical constituents including total carbohydrate and
photosynthetic pigments content. Similarly, wider plant spacing showed the greatest
effect on growth components and chemical constituents. Generally, the maximum rate
of compost (39.6 t/ha) combined with wider distance between plants (40 cm) had a
favorable effect on most of growth characters. The same treatment gave the highest
mean value for essential oil yield during the first season while the same compost rate
combined with the medium distance (30 cm) gave the highest value during the second
season. The main constituent of the essential oil was linalool followed by geranial. On
the other hand, compost levels combined with different distances had a pronounced
effect on the various essential oil constituents. It can be decisived that there is no
significant difference between wider distance (40 cm) and medium one (30 cm); so, it
can be recommended to apply the maximum level of compost (39.6 t/ha) combined
with medium distance.
Shalan ( 2006 ) evaluate the effect of plant spacing (25 cm 25 cm,
50 cm 25 cm and 50 cm 50 cm) and farm yard manure (FYM -15, 22.5, 30 and
37.5 t ha
1
) on growth, yield and quality of oil from C. aromatica. Variation in plant
spacing and FYM level did not influence the oil content as well as major oil
constituents. The first order rhizomes had higher oil content than the second order
rhizomes. Application of 22.5 t ha
1
of FYM provided higher oil yield (234.4 kg ha
1
)
as compared to 15.0 t ha
1
of FYM (174.1 kg ha
1
). Also, oil yield was maximum at
50 cm 50 cm spacing (213.5 kg ha
1
) as compared to closer spacing of
25 cm 25 cm (191.6 kg ha
1
). The pooled oil constituents of the first order and
second order rhizomes showed increment in 1,8 cineole content with increase in plant
spacing from 25 cm 25 cm (14%) to 50 cm 50 cm (17%). Irrespective of the
treatments, camphor was the major compound followed by 1,8 cineole and isobornyl
alcohol.
Rajeswara and Rajput (2011) A field investigation was carried out on red
sandy soil in the semi-arid tropical climate of south India to investigate the response
of industrially important, multi-harvest, aromatic crop palmarosa {Cymbopogon
martinii (Roxb.) Wats. var. motia Burk., family: Poaceae} to foliar application
(2.5 g/L single application for each harvest at 700 L nutrient solution per hectare) of
magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), boron (B) and their residual
effect on the succeeding harvest. During the experimental period, palmarosa crop
afforded four harvests, 49.570.6 t/ha total biomass yield (fresh weight), 211.4
384.2 kg/ha total essential oil yield and Rs. 232,540422,620/ha (US$ 4844.6
8804.6/ha) gross returns. Fifth harvest (no nutrients were applied) performed to
examine the residual effect of Mg and micronutrients applied to the previous four
Archives Des Sciences Vol 66, No. 4;Apr 2013
114 ISSN 1661-464X

harvests revealed the absence of residual effect pointing to the need for application of
nutrients to individual harvests. Foliar application of Mg and micronutrients
significantly increased the yield attributes (plant height, tiller number/plant, leaf
number/plant), biomass yield, essential oil yield and gross returns of palmarosa. Mg
and micronutrients enhanced the total biomass yields by 37.042.6% and the total
essential oil yields by 44.681.7% in comparison to the control (water spray). All the
treatments produced good quality essential oils with 1.53.2% linalool, 79.785.8%
geraniol and 4.510.3% geranyl acetate. Mg and B additions declined linalool (%) in
the second and fourth harvests and increased geraniol (%) in the first harvest. Mg and
micronutrients application improved geraniol (%) in the second harvest. Except Zn,
all the other nutrients decreased geranyl acetate (%) in the second harvest, but in the
third and fourth harvests Mn and B increased geranyl acetate (%).
Soil pH affects the availability of several mineral nutrients, such as N, P, K,
Fe, Ca, Mg, Mn, B, Cu, Zn, and all of these nutrients are available in the pH range of
5.5 to 6.5.such losses can be dramatically reduced by liming soils to a pH influenced
the fresh and dry weight and the essential oil yield of peppermint (Sefa et al., 2010).
The pH of olive paste can influence the volatile compound composition of
virgin olive oil. Enzymes with an optimum activity in the basic pH range (8-9) are
acylhydrolase (AH) and Alchol acetyl transferase (AAT) while, those with an
optimum in the acidic range (5.2-6.6) are lipoxygenase (Lox), Alcohol dehydrogenase
(ADH) and Hydro peroxide lyase (HPL) (Kalua, 2007).
3-Effect of chemical composition on quality and quantity of essential oils.
Near their environmental and acceptable ecolological properties, naturally
occurring antioxidants are cheap and readily available and renewable sources of
materials. These organic compounds are either synthesized or either extracted from
aromatic herbs, spices and medicinal plants. These advantages have incited us to draw
a large part of program of our laboratory to examine extracts of natural substances as
corrosion inhibitors, We previously reported that pennyroyal oil, Eucalptus oil,
Fenugreek oil, menthol derivatives, Artemisia herba alba oil have been found to be
very efficient corrosion inhibitors for steel in acid media.
Znini et al.,( 2011) The inhibitory effect of Mentha spicata L oil was
estimated on the corrosion of steel in 1M hydrochloric acid using electrochemical
polarization and weight loss measurements. The corrosion rate of steel is decreased in
the presence of natural oil. The inhibition efficiency was found to increase with oil
content to attain 97% at 2.00g/L carvone(29%) and trans careol (14%)were the major
oil components of this plant.
4-Effect of toxin on quality and quantity of essential oils
Aflatoxins, the toxic metabolites produced by Aspergillus flavus and
Aspergillus parasiticus were detected in over 30% of melon seed samples from
markets and stores in Nigeria (Bankole and Adebanjo, 2004). Naturally occurring
mixtures of aflatoxins and aflatoxineB1 have been classified as class 1 human
carcinogens (1ARC,1993). Aflatoxines have been associated with elevated rate of
liver cancer, a growth stunting and immune toxicity in west Africa (Aliabadi 2010
and Bankole and Adebanjo 2004). The ground leaves of Lemon grass (Cymbopogon
citrates. Stapf) significantly reduced the extent of deterioration in melon seeds
inoculated with different fungi compared to the untreated inoculated seeds. The
Archives Des Sciences Vol 66, No. 4;Apr 2013
115 ISSN 1661-464X

essential oil at 0.1 and 0.25% (v/w) and ground leaves at 10% (w/v) significantly
reduced deterioration and aflatoxin production in shelled melon seeds inoculated with
toxigenic A.
The efficacy of the essential oil in preserving the quality melon seeds in stores
was statistically at par with that of fungicide treatment.

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