Basil (Ocimum L.) species are used as medicinal plants due to their essential oils exhibiting specific biological activity. The present work demonstrated that both the variety and season/conditions of cultivation had a significant effect on (i) the produced amount (extraction yield), (ii) qualitative, as well as (iii) quantitative profile of basil essential oil. Among studied basil varieties, a new variety, ‘Manes’, was characterized for the first time. Based on our quantitative evaluation of GC-MS profiles, the following chemotypes and average concentrations of a main component were detected in the studied basil varieties: ‘Ohře’, ‘Lettuce Leaf’, ‘Purple Opaal’, ‘Dark Green’ (linalool, 5.99, 2.49, 2.34, 2.01 mg/mL, respectively), and ‘Mammolo Genovese’, ‘Manes’, ‘Red Rubin’ (eucalyptol, 1.34, 0.96, 0.76 mg/mL, respectively). At the same time, when considering other compounds identified in GC-MS profiles, all the studied varieties, except from ‘Lettuce Leaf’, were methyl eugenol-rich with a strong dependence of the eugenol:methyl eugenol ratio on the seasonal changes (mainly solar irradiation, but also temperature and relative humidity). More complex and/or variable (depending on the season and cultivation) chemotypes were observed with ‘Lettuce Leaf’ (plus estragole, 2.27 mg/mL), ‘Dark Green’ (plus eucalyptol, 1.36 mg/mL), ‘Mammolo Genovese’ (plus eugenol, 1.19 mg/mL), ‘Red Rubin’ (plus linalool and eugenol, 0.46 and 0.56 mg/mL, respectively), and ‘Manes’ (plus linalool and eugenol, 0.58 and 0.40 mg/mL, respectively). When considering superior extraction yield (ca. 17 mL·kg−1, i.e., two to five times higher than other examined varieties) and consistent amounts (yields) of essential oil when comparing inter-seasonal or inter-year data (RSD and inter-year difference in mean yield values ˂2.5%), this new basil variety is very promising for use in the pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic industries.

https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/22/7/1221/pdf

Characterization of Essential Oil Composition in Different Basil Species and Pot Cultures by a GC-MS Method

Ocimum tenuiflorum L., holy basil "Tulsi", is an important medicinal plant that is being grown and traditionally revered throughout Indian Subcontinent for thousands of years; however, DNA sequence-based genetic diversity of this aromatic herb is not yet known. In this report, we present our studies on the phylogeography of this species using trnL-trnF intergenic spacer of plastid genome as the DNA barcode for isolates from Indian subcontinent. Our pairwise distance analyses indicated that genetic heterogeneity of isolates remained quite low, with overall mean nucleotide p-distance of 5 × 10(-4). However, our sensitive phylogenetic analysis using maximum likelihood framework was able to reveal subtle intraspecific molecular evolution of this species within the subcontinent. All isolates except that from North-Central India formed a distinct phylogenetic clade, notwithstanding low bootstrap support and collapse of the clade in Bayesian Inference. North-Central isolates occupied more basal position compared to other isolates, which is suggestive of its evolutionarily primitive status. Indian isolates formed a monophyletic and well-supported clade within O. tenuiflorum clade, which indicates a distinct haplotype. Given the vast geographical area of more than 3 million km(2) encompassing many exclusive biogeographical and ecological zones, relatively low rate of evolution of this herb at this locus in India is particularly interesting.

/pdf/chloroplast-dna-phylogeography-of-holy-basil-ocimum-il6sh1nvhm.pdf

Chloroplast DNA phylogeography of holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum) in Indian subcontinent.

Genetic characterization of Ocimum genus using flow cytometry and inter-simple sequence repeat markers

Phytochemical variability of selected basil genotypes

Evaluation of antileishmanial, antibacterial and brine shrimp cytotoxic potential of crude methanolic extract of Herb Ocimum basilicum (Lamiacea).

Basil is an important medicinal and aromatic plant that is widely used in many fields. The aim of this study was to evaluate the oil content and ornamental value of a wide range of species and cultivars of Ocimum L. from various different sources, using standardized descriptors. 34 cultivars of basil (Ocimum L.) were grown in two different years at The Faculty of Horticulture in Lednice, Czech Republic. The cultivars were divided into groups according to leaf colour and leaf size. The cultivars displayed a wide diversity of morphological, biological and economic characteristics. The groups of green small-leafed and purple-leafed varieties were judged to be the most decorative. To improve the ornamental value of the Ocimum species the uniformity, colour stability and earliness of flowering should be examined. The essential oil was extracted using hydro-distillation methods. Most of the samples had high essential oil levels (1.8 – 14.3 ml.kg), which were influenced by cultivar, environmental conditions and storage length. The major

J. Neugebauerová

Papers

A study of 34 cultivars of basil (Ocimum L.) and their morphological, economic and biochemical characteristics, using standardized descriptors.