Title:Changes in Essential Oil Profile of Thymus daenensis Celak., Thymus
fedtschenkoi Ronniger., and Thymus vulgaris L. Under Methyl Jasmonate
Treatment
Volume: 20
Issue: 4
Author(s): Alireza Shayganfar*Davod Akhzari
Affiliation:
- Department of Horticultural Science and Landscape Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Malayer, Malayer,Iran
Keywords:
Methyl jasmonate, Thymus daenensis, Thymus fedtschenkoi, Thymus vulgaris, oil profile, aromatic plants.
Abstract: Background: TThymus plants are well-known medicinal plants and it is believed that the
pharmaceutical and therapeutical properties of these plants are related to their essential oils. The
quality and quantity of the essential oils, as a secondary metabolite of an aromatic plant, are directly
related to the physiological state of the plant. The role of jasmonates in the plant as signal
molecules in mediation and up-regulation of plant defense and secondary metabolism processes is
well recognized.
Objective: With the aim of increasing the performance and stimulating secondary metabolites, this
study evaluates the influence of the foliar application of MJ on essential oil content and composition
of three different Thymus species, whether as an elicitor or an activator
Method: The experiment was arranged in a randomized block design with MJ treatments in four
levels (0, 30, 60, 100 mM) and three replications
Results: Compared to the control, the essential oil content of all three species increased in all treatment
levels. However, the changes in essential oil composition were different. Under MJ treatments,
the amount of sesquiterpenes (especially caryophyllene oxide) increased in T. daenensis and
T. fedtschenkoi. In addition, the amount of thymol in T. daenensis, thymol, and γ-terpinene in T.
vulgaris increased, whereas carvacrol methyl ether in T. daenensis and p-cymene in T. vulgaris decreased.
Conclusion: IIt seems the type of plant species has a specific role in determining the response.
There were no interpretable changes between treatment levels