Caracterização morfológica e análise de óleo essencial de acessos de manjericão (Ocimum basilicum L.)

Abstract

The basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is a condiment widely used medicinally, aromatically, in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries through the extraction of its essential oils. The objective of this work was to carry out the morphological and physicochemical characterization of basil accesses from the Germplasm Bank of the Federal University of São Carlos. During the first stage of the experiment, agronomic characteristics of 63 accesses were evaluated. There was great variation in these characteristics between accesses, especially during the flowering period. Those with late flowering, some intermediates and with agronomic morphological characteristics of interest were evaluated, in the second stage in a hydroponic system of cultivation, analyzing agronomic characteristics of the plants and physicochemical characterization of the essential oils from 15 accesses, with two commercial varieties (Basil Manolo (T1) and Fine French Basil (T2)) and 13 accesses from the first stage. The essential oil contents found varied from 0.07 to 0.40%, and the most prominent volatile fraction was methyl-eugenol. However, the accesses that stood out were the G11 and G22 (G being the large typology), for presenting very interesting agronomic characteristics for the cultivation of basil in a hydroponic system, for the commercialization of the same in natura and the G24 for the extraction of essential oils. The commercial witnesses also evaluated in this project are even superior. Noting that there are new accesses with great potential to enter the consumer market.