Phenotypic Plasticity of the Essential Oil in Basil Accesses (Ocimum basilicum L.)

Abstract

Aiming at the knowledge about the environmental and genetic factors influencing the production of medicinal species, the phenotypic plasticity of the essential oil was study in three basil accesses (Ocimum basilicum L). The white basil, purple basil and sweet basil accesses were grown under four environments with fertilization treatment; 1) without fertilization; 2) organic fertilization; 3) chemical fertilization 4) chemical and organic fertilization. Plasticity was quantified by intensity of the phenotypic variations in the essential oil characters (content, chemical composition and concentration of terpinolene and eugenol). The oil was obtained by the waler steam distillation method and analyzed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The plasticity values were estimated through the environmental variation coefficient (CVa) and environmental determination index (la²). The CVa was used to estimate the magnitudes on plasticity and la² when representing the proportion on total variation attributed to the environmental effect. The essential oil characters presented high plasticity values in oil content for the white basil and eugenol as well as in concentration for purple basil and sweet basil. The results showed that the environmental effects on basil accesses were responsible for variation on the oil quantitative aspect by altering the contents and concentration in their main components, so making possible to modify the plant medicinal properties.