Effect of Magnesium on Essential Oil Formation of Genetically Transformed and Non-Transformed Chamomile Cultures

Objective: The importance of chamomile (Chamomilla recutita) is widely known in classical and folk medicine, with the largest group of its effective substances forming the essential oil (chamazulene, α-bisabolol, trans-β-farnesene, spathulenol, cis/trans-en-in-dicycloethers). The increasing need for plant-derived high quality drugs cannot be provided by their collection in the wilderness.Method A: To preserve the genome of Szabadkigyo. wild type having high (−)-α-bisabolol content, we used biotechnological methods.Results: The roots of organized culture contained β-eudesmol, which we have identified in the intact roots. Our gas-chromatographic and mass-spectroscopic studies showed that sterile chamomile cultures generated the most important terpenoid and polyin compounds characteristics of the intact plant. We identified berkheyaradulene, geranyl-isovalerate and cedrol, as new components in these cultures. Magnesium (Mg) (370 and 740 mg/l MgSO4) has a positive effect on the growth of organized cultures an...