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Profiling of Essential Oil Constituents in Ocimum Species

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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India Section B: Biological Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Ocimum species are herbaceous plants with great medicinal importance. Various tissues of the plants are being used in folk remedies for a variety of purposes. The pharmacologically active natural products present in essential oils in the Ocimum species belong to two major classes of natural compounds, viz. phenylpropanoids and terpenoids. In the present study, the essential oils from the inflorescence, leaf, and stem tissues of four major Ocimum species were hydro-distilled and analyzed. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry profiling to unravel the phytomolecules and compositional quantification showed the occurrence of distinct tissue-based variability of phytomolecules. Phenylpropanoids such as eugenol and methyl chavicol were specifically found in the tissues of O. sanctum, O. gratissimum, and O. basilicum, respectively, whereas O. kilimandscharicum was distinct in possessing a terpenoid phytomolecule camphor predominantly in its tissues. The study also analyzed the uniqueness of the distribution of phytochemical constituents of essential oil in Ocimum species in tissue- and species-specific manner. Leaves were the major site of accumulation of essential oil, whereas inflorescence and stem also contained essential oil constituents albeit in low quantities.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Council of Scientific and Innovative Research (CSIR)-HCP007 for financial support to N Sangwan. S. Maurya is thankful to AcSIR for Ph.D. registration. The authors are also thankful to the central facility of CSIR-CIMAP for GC and GC–MS analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Metabolic and Structural Biology, CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow, 226015, India

    Shiwani Maurya & Neelam Singh Sangwan

  2. Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), CSIR-Human Resource Development Centre Campus, Sector 19, Kamla Nehru Nagar, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, 201002, India

    Shiwani Maurya & Neelam Singh Sangwan

  3. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Interdisciplinary and Applied Life Science, Central University of Haryana, Mahendergarh, Haryana, 123031, India

    Neelam Singh Sangwan

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  1. Shiwani Maurya
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Correspondence to Neelam Singh Sangwan.

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Significance Statement

The present study reports essential oil constituents from four major Ocimum “Tulsi” species (Ocimum sanctum, O. gratissimum, O. basilicum, and O. kilimandscharicum). The comparative study gives an account and profiles of phenylpropanoids and terpenoids in a tissue-specific manner. The information will be highly useful in ascertaining the pharmacological properties of Ocimum species.

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Maurya, S., Sangwan, N.S. Profiling of Essential Oil Constituents in Ocimum Species. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., India, Sect. B Biol. Sci. 90, 577–583 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40011-019-01123-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40011-019-01123-8

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