TITLE:
Effects of Irrigation and Drought on Growth and Essential Oil Production in O. vulgare and R. officinalis
AUTHORS:
David C. Baudoin, Edward Bush, Ted Gauthier, Amy B. Hernandez, Heather Kirk-Ballard
KEYWORDS:
Water Relations, Essential Oil Extraction, Terpenes, Plant Environmental Stress, Mass Spectroscopy
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.13 No.5,
May
30,
2022
ABSTRACT: The essential oil industry has led a rapidly growing
market in American herbal medicine. The global essential oil industry was valued
at an estimated 18.6 billion USD in 2020 and is expected to have a compound annual
growth rate of 7.6% from 2020 to 2027. “Essential oil” is a broad term used to describe
volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are often associated with a plant’s essence
or aroma. These molecules are commonly extracted from a variety of different plant
structures by steam distillation and cold pressing. Essential
oils function as a defense against insects, bacteria, fungi, and other stressors,
such as drought and cold. The most industrially important of this class of compounds are monoterpenes,
steam-volatile constituents which are the most abundant terpenes throughout plants. Essential oils may include monoterpenes (two isoprene units), sesquiterpenes
(three isoprene units), ketones, and phenolics. Phenolics include flavonoids, anthocyanins,
and tannins.