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Variability in essential oil composition of Turkish basils (Ocimum basilicum

L.)

Article  in  Biochemical Systematics and Ecology · June 2006

DOI: 10.1016/j.bse.2006.01.009

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 Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 34 (2006) 489e497
www.elsevier.com/locate/biochemsyseco

Variability in essential oil composition of Turkish basils

(Ocimum basilicum L.)
Isa Telci a,*, Emine Bayram b, Güngör Yılmaz a, Betül Avcı b
a
Department of Field Crops, Agricultural Faculty of Gaziosmanpasxa University, Tokat, Turkey
b
Department of Field Crops, Agricultural Faculty of Ege University, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey
Received 2 August 2005; accepted 9 January 2006

Abstract

Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), one of the most popular aromatic plants, shows great variation in both morphology and
essential oil components. In this study, the composition of 18 Turkish basil essential oils was investigated by GC and GCeMS.
Variation of essential oils in the landraces was subjected to cluster analysis, and seven different chemotypes were identified.
They were (1) linalool, (2) methyl cinnamate, (3) methyl cinnamate/linalool, (4) methyl eugenol, (5) citral, (6) methyl chavicol
(estragol), and (7) methyl chavicol/citral. Methyl chavicol with high citral contents (methyl chavicol/citral) can be considered
as a ‘‘new chemotype’’ in the Turkish basils. Because methyl eugenol and methyl chavicol have structural resemblance to carci-
nogenic phenylpropanoids, chemotypes having high linalool, methyl cinnamate or citral contents and a mixture of these is suitable
to cultivate for use in industry.
Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Basil; Ocimum basilicum; Essential oil; Chemotypes; GCeMS

1. Introduction

The genus Ocimum belonging to the Lamiaceae comprises annual and perennial herbs and shrubs native to the trop-
ical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa and South America (Darrah, 1988). The taxonomy of Ocimum is complex
due to interspecific hybridization and polyploidy of the species in the genus. Pushpangadan and Bradu (1995) recog-
nized more than 150 species; however, Paton et al. (1999) proposed that Ocimum had only 65 species and other at-
tributions should be considered as synonyms. Among the species of the genus, Ocimum basilicum L. (basil) is the
major essential oil crop around the world and cultured commercially in many countries. Basil is used as a medicinal
herb in medical treatments such as for headaches, coughs, diarrhea, worms, and kidney malfunctions. Basil essential
oil has been utilized extensively in the food industry as a flavoring agent, and in perfumery and medical industries
(Simon et al., 1999). It is also considered as a source of aroma compounds, and it possesses a range of biological

* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ90 356 252 1479; fax: þ90 356 252 1488.
E-mail address: itelci@gop.edu.tr (I. Telci).

0305-1978/$ - see front matter Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.bse.2006.01.009
490 I. Telci et al. / Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 34 (2006) 489e497

activities such as insect repellent, nematocidal, antibacterial, antifungal agents and antioxidants activities (Lee et al.,
2005; Deshpande and Tipnis, 1977; Simon et al., 1999; Juliani and Simon, 2002).
There are many commercial basil varieties having different chemical properties. Marotti et al. (1996) studied es-
sential oil of Italian cultivars having different morphological features, and determined three different chemotypes:
‘linalool’, ‘linaloolemethyl chavicol’ and ‘linalooleeugenol’. Similarly, Lachowicz et al. (1997) defined essential
oil composition of basil varieties from Australia containing methyl chavicol, linalool, methyl cinnamate, a mixture
of linalool/methyl cinnamate, and linalool/methyl chavicol. Basil has been classified according to different geograph-
ical origins. They are the European chemotype, from Italy, France, Bulgaria, Egypt, and South Africa, having linalool
and methyl chavicol as main components; Tropical chemotype, from India, Pakistan and Guatemala, being rich in
methyl cinnamate; Reunion chemotype, from Thailand, Madagascar and Vietnam, being characterized by high con-
centrations of methyl chavicol (Vernin and Metzger, 1984; Simon et al., 1999). There is also a eugenol-rich chemotype
from North Africa and Russia (Vernin and Metzger, 1984).
Besides linalool, methyl chavicol, methyl cinnamate, methyl eugenol and a mixture of these are commonly the
main components in Ocimum species and varieties. Other chemotypes were detected in recent studies such as b-
caryophyllene in Ocimum tenuiflorum L. (Simon et al., 1999) and Ocimum micranthum Willd. (syn. Ocimum campe-
chianum Mill.) (Vieira and Simon, 2000); citral in O.
citriodorium (Morales et al., 1993; Grayer et al., 1996; Simon
et al., 1999) and Ocimum canum Sims. (Choudhary et al., 1989); ethyl cinnamate in Ocimum gratissimum L. (Dubey
et al., 2000); 1,8-cineole in O. micranthum (syn. O. campechianum) (Vieira and Simon, 2000); thymol in O. gratissi-
mum (Martins et al., 1999; Vieira and Simon, 2000; Vieira et al., 2001); p-cymene in O. gratissimum (Vieira and
Simon, 2000); geranyl acetate in Ocimum minimum (Ozcan and Chalchat, 2002); and camphor in O. canum (Chagonda
et al., 2000).
The erosion of genetic resources can be related to the adaptation of uniform cultivars with high yields and the plan-
tation of large areas with these genetically uniform cultivars (Altieri and Merrick, 1987). Turkey is significant as
a country having rich plant genetic resources and plant diversity. Primitive landraces of the medicinal and aromatic
plants are cultivated in Turkey, and there are few standardized varieties in these plants. Studies have focused on col-
lecting and characterizing landraces of important medicinal plants to breed superior varieties, to conserve landraces,
which are under genetic erosion. In this study, we aimed to evaluate chemical characters of selected basil (O. basili-
cum) landraces from Turkey to define the chemodiversity of basil and to determine their potential use for various
industries.

2. Material and methods

2.1. Plant material

The study was conducted in North-Central Anatolia under semi arid conditions. Seeds of 18 basil landraces (O.
basilicum L.) were collected from local farms and home gardens in Turkey (Table 1). To examine essential oil com-
position of the basil landraces without environmental influences, the plants were grown under identical (same envi-
ronmental and soil conditions) conditions. Seeds were sown on a medium (1:1:1 washed sand, horse manure and field
soil) in greenhouse conditions on March 25, 2003. Seedlings were grown until the 3e5 leaf stage. The seedlings were
transplanted into pilots in the Gaziosmanpasxa University Experimental Research Station on May 15, 2003. The plants
were harvested at the full blooming stage and dried at 35  C for essential oil isolation.

2.2. Essential oil isolation

Oil was obtained from leaves by hydro-distillation with a Schilcher apparatus (Schilcher, 1964). Distilled water
was used and 20 g samples were diluted with 200 ml distilled water (1:10 w/v). Distillation was continued for approx-
imately 2 h. The essential oils were stored in dark glass bottles at 4  C (Marotti et al., 1996) until analysis.

2.3. GC and GCeMS analysis

Essential oil components were analyzed using a 6890 Agilent gas chromatograph equipped with HP-Innowax fused
silica capillary column (30 m
0.25 mm, film thickness 0.25 mm). Oven temperature was held at 50  C for 5 min and
 I. Telci et al. / Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 34 (2006) 489e497 491

Table 1
List of Ocimum basilicum landraces, origin, essential oil contents and chemotype
No Landraces Origin Essential oil Chemotype
contents (ml/100 g)
1 LR-1 Erzurum 0.8 I
2 LR-7 Antalya 0.4 I
3 LR-16K Malatya 0.4 I
4 LR-9 Elazığ 0.5 I
5 LR-13 Tokat 0.6 I
6 LR-3 Amasya 0.8 I
7 LR-19 Osmaniye 0.5 I
8 LR-25 Antalya 1.4 II
9 LR-23 Anamur 1.5 II
10 LR-20 Antalya 0.5 III
11 LR-4 xehir
Kırs 1.2 IV
12 LR-17 Malatya 0.5 V
13 LR-29L Sivas 0.8 V
14 LR-2L Mersin 0.7 V
15 LR-28L Sivas 0.8 V
16 LR-6 Zonguldak 1.2 VI
17 LR-10A Tokat 0.9 VI
18 LR-26L Diyarbakır 0.7 VII

then increased from 50  C to 220  C at a rate of 8  C/min. Injector and detector (FID) temperatures were 250  C and
250  C, respectively. Helium was used as the carrier gas at a flow rate of 1.3 ml/min. Diluted samples (1/100 in chlo-
roform, v/v) of 2.0 ml were injected in the split/splitless (5:1 split) mode. Quantitative data were obtained electroni-
cally from FID area percent data.
GCeMS analysis was performed using a Agilent system consisting a model 6890 with 5973 mass selective detector
equipped with HP-Innowax fused silica capillary column (30 m
0.25 mm, film thickness 0.25 mm). For GCeMS
detection, an electron ionization system, with ionization energy of 70 eV, was used. Helium was carrier gas, at
a flow rate of 1.3 ml/min. The oven temperature programming was the same with GC analysis. Injector and MS trans-
fer line temperatures were set at 220  C and 250  C, respectively. Diluted samples (1/100 in chloroform, v/v) of 2.0 ml
were injected in the split/splitless (5:1 split) mode.
Identification of oil components was accomplished based on comparison of their retention times with those of au-
thentic standards and by comparison of their mass spectral fragmentation patterns (WILLEY and NIST database/
ChemStation data system).

2.4. Cluster analysis

Cluster analysis was used to classify and group all the landraces according to their main components. Cluster anal-
ysis based on selected components (Table 2) was calculated using the Euclidean distance measure. For the grouping of
the chemotypes, the agglomerative and hierarchical method was applied (Ozdemir, 2002). The computations were
performed using SPSS package software (Version 11.5).

3. Results and discussion

To identify the different chemotypes, the study was carried out on individual oil of 18 O. basilicum L. landraces
from Turkey. The average essential oil content in the landraces was 0.8%, ranging from 0.4 to 1.5% (Table 1). The
greatest essential oil yield was determined from chemotype II, although there is no clear relationship between essen-
tial oil content and chemotypes. The application of cluster analysis techniques to the results obtained from the essen-
tial oils analysis of the landraces allowed us to establish seven different chemotypes (Fig. 1). The mean values and
variation ranges of the essential oil composition in the chemotypes are listed in Tables 1 and 2, respectively. Oxygen-
ated monoterpenes were the major compounds in all chemotypes. However, the sesquiterpene contents were higher in
chemotypes I, III and IV than in other chemotypes with higher oxygenated monoterpenes.
 492
Table 2
Essential oil composition (%) of Turkish basil chemotypes
No Componenta RTb Chemotypes Identification
I II III IV V VI VII
Mean Range Mean Range 1 Sample 1 Sample Mean Range Mean Range 1 Sample
1 b-Pinene 4.79 0.5 0.1e1.2 0.1 te0.2 0.6 0.8 e e 0.2 te0.4 e a,b
2 Sabinene 5.22 0.1 te0.2 e e 0.3 0.4 e e 0.1 te0.2 e a,b
3 Phellandrene 6.36 0.2 te092 e e e e e e e e e b
4 b-Myrcene 6.45 0.5 0.3e0.9 0.1 te0.1 0.4 0.5 e 0.2 te0.3 e a,b
5 Limonene 7.21 0.2 0.2e0.3 e e 0.1 0.2 e 0.2 te4 e a,b

I. Telci et al. / Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 34 (2006) 489e497

6 1,8-Cineolec 7.38 4.2 0.2e14.5 0.1 0.4e1.8 6.1 10.3 0.1 te0.2 2.7 0.4e5.0 a,b
7 cis-b-Ocimene 8.43 0.6 0.2e1.8 0.4 0.3e0.4 0.5 1.2 e e 0.1 te2.0 e a,b
8 a-Terpinene 8.63 0.1 te0.2 e e e e e e e e e a,b
9 a-Terpinolene 9.25 0.1 te0.2 e e e 0.1 e e e e e b
10 6-Methyl 3-heptenone 10.49 e e e e e e 1.2 1.1e1.3 e e 0.7 b
11 Fenchone 11.52 0.1 te0.1 e e e e e e 0.2 te0.5 0.2 b
12 1-Octen-3-ol 12.64 0.1 te0.1 e e e 0.2 e e e e e b
13 trans-Sabinene hydrate 12.86 0.1 te0.3 e e 0.1 0.1 e e e e e b
14 Fenchyl acetate 12.92 t te0.1 e e e e e e b
15 a-Cubebene 13.00 0.1 0.1e0.2 e e e e e e 0.8 te1.6 e b
16 a-Copaene 13.26 0.2 te0.3 0.2 te0.2 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.4e0.6 e e 0.3 b
17 Camphorc 13.65 1.1 0.3e3.2 e e 0.4 e e 0.3 te0.7 a,b
18 Dill ether 13.68 0.1 te0.2 e e e e e b
19 b-Bourbonene 13.79 t te0.2 e 0.1 e e e e b
20 b-Cubebene 14.10 0.2 0.1e0.3 0.1 te0.1 e 0.3 0.5 0.4e0.5 0.1 te0.2 0.3 b
21 Linaloolc 14.43 48.3 37.7e60.2 21.5 17.3e27.3 23.2 12.3 4.3 3.2e5.3 5.1 1.7e8.4 2.7 a,b
22 Linalyl acetate 14.45 e e e e 0.2 0.2 te0.6 e b
23 1-Octanol 14.50 0.1 te0.2 0.1 te0.1 0.1 e e e 0.2 b
24 Isobornyl acetate 14.86 1.3 1.1e1.5 e e 0.4 e e 0.2 te0.5 b
25 Zingiberenec 14.93 1.3 1.2e1.9 1.2 1.1e1.3 3.4 2.2 2.8 2.3e3.3 1.0 0.9e1.2 1.1 b
c
26 b-Selinene 15.11 1.9 1.1e2.8 0.7 0.6e0.9 1.9 1.8 0.2 te0.4 1.1 1.1e1.16 0.2 b
27 trans-b-Caryophyllenec 15.10 1.2 0.3e3.1 0.1 te0.1 0.7 3.4 2.5e4.2 1.2 0.5e1.9 2.5 a,b
28 Methylfuran 15.42 e e e 0.4 0.3e0.5 e e 0.2 b
29 Terpinen-4-ol 15.68 0.2 te0.8 e 0.2 e e e e b
30 g-Cadinene 15.71 0.1 te0.2 e 0.1 e e e e b
31 b-Sesquiphellandrene 15.82 0.1 0.1e0.2 e 0.1 0.1 0.1 te0.3 e e b
32 a-Humulene 16.13 1.1 0.9e1.2 0.4 0.3e0.5 1.6 1.1 0.1 0.7e1.5 e e 0.7 b
33 Methyl chavicolc 16.26 0.6 te0.9 0.4 te0.8 0.8 e 68.3 60.3e76.3 41.8 a,b
34 E-b-Farnesene 16.37 0.5 0.1e1.1 0.5 te0.1 0.4 0.3 0.6 0.5e0.7 e e e b
35 Citralc 16.41 e e e 61.0 56.6e65.6 0.3 te2.9 33.9 a,b
36 Linalyl propionate 16.52 0.8 te2.4 e e b
37 Borneol 16.67 0.2 te0.7 e 0.9 e e e e a,b
38 Germacrene Dc 16.74 3.3 1.8e4.3 0.8 0.7e0.9 2.9 2.2 1.8 0.9e2.8 2.6 2.4e2.7 1.6 a,b
39 b-Guaienec 16.87 1.6 0.9e1.7 0.4 0.3e0.5 1.7 1.6 e e 0.7 0.6e0.9 e B
40 b-Selinene 16.89 0.1 te0.2 e e 0.1 0.1 0.4 0.3e0.5 e e a,b
41 b-Bisabolene 17.02 0.2 0.1e0.3 0.1 te0.1 0.2 0.1 e e 0.1 te0.2 b
42 Neryl acetate 17.05 e e e e e e e 0.3 b
43 Bicyclogermacrenec 17.07 1.5 0.9e2.0 0.4 0.3e0.5 1.3 1.1 e e e e b
44 Carvone 17.33 e e e e 0.5 e e e e a,b
45 g-Cadinenec 17.47 3.2 1.3e5.0 1.4 1.2e1.6 3.6 2.6 0.6 0.4e0.8 1.7 0.8e2.6 0.6 b
46 b-Elemene 17.50 1.1 te1.6 e e 0.1 0.1 te0.3 0.1 te0.3 b
47 Citronellol 17.57 e e e e 0.1 te0.2 e e b
48 b-Sesquiphellandrene 17.61 0.2 0.1e0.4 0.2 b

I. Telci et al. / Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 34 (2006) 489e497

e e e e e e
49 a-Bisabolenec 17.68 e e e e e e 2.8 2.1e3.4 1.2 0.3e2.0 2.1 b
50 Nerol 18.05 0.1 te0.2 e e 1.4 1.3e1.4 e e 1.8 b
51 Calamenene 18.46 0.3 0.1e0.4 e 0.2 0.1 e e e e b
52 Geraniol 18.69 0.7 0.2e1.1 0.2 te0.3 0.5 e 2.5 1.0e3.9 e e 1.4 a,b
53 trans-b-Ionone 19.90 T te0.1 e 0.2 e 0.1 te0.2 e e e b
54 Caryophyllene oxide 20.43 0.2 0.2e0.3 e 0.1 1.9 1.8e2.0 0.1 te0.2 0.6 b
55 Methyl eugenolc 20.87 1.2 0.5e2.6 e 0.3 34.2 2.0 0.8e3.3 2.4 1.3e3.4 1.1 a,b
56 Humulene oxide 21.07 e e e 0.2 te0.5 e e b
57 Nerolidol 21.17 0.3 0.2e0.3 0.1 te0.1 0.2 0.5 e e 0.4 0.2e0.7 b
58 Methyl cinnamatec 21.64 e 61.0 58.e63.1 30.3 4.6 e e 0.4 0.2e0.5 0.7 b
59 Spathulenol 22.17 0.2 0.1e0.4 e e 0.2 e e 0.2 te0.4 e b
60 a-Cadinolc 22.62 0.24 0.1e0.4 2.7 2.4e2.9 0.6 0.1 1.5 1.4e1.7 e e 1.0 b
c
61 Eugenol 22.74 10.1 3.1e21.1 e e 3.1 4.2 e e 1.1 te2.3 a,b
62 d-Cadinenec 22.85 7.1 7.4e8.7 1.2 te2.4 5.5 3.9 e e 2.7 te5.4 b
63 b-Bisabolol 23.28 0.2 0.1e0.3 e e 0.2 0.2 e e 0.1 te0.2 B
64 b-Eudesmol 23.41 0.6 0.5e0.7 0.1 te0.2 e e 0.3 te0.6 b
65 Methyl jasmine 24.57 0.1 te0.2 e e e e e e 0.4 b
66 7-epi-Amiteol 23.66 0.2 te0.2 e e 0.2 0.2 e e e e b
67 Hexadecanoic acid 32.86 0.3 0.3e0.4 0.1 te0.1 0.7 0.1 0.4 0.4e0.5 0.3 0.1e0.4 0.2 b

Monoterpene hydrocarbons 2.4 1.1 1.9 1.4 e 0.9 e

Oxygenated monoterpenes 68.1 83.1 63.7 67.1 74.9 81.0 85.6
Sesquiterpenes 25.5 7.7 23.9 20.9 10.0 13.2 9.5
Oxygenated sesquiterpenes 1.6 2.8 0.9 0.9 3.5 0.6 1.6

Others 1.74 0.1 2.2 1.6 3.2 2.0 0.1

Total identified 99.34 94.5 92.6 91.9 91.6 97.7 96.68

t: trace (<0.1%); a, retention time according to authentic standards; b, mass spectrum.
a
Components are listed in order of elution on HP-Innowax fused silica capillary column.
b
Retention times.
c

493
Constituents selected for the multivariate (Cluster) analysis.
494 I. Telci et al. / Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 34 (2006) 489e497

Fig. 1. Dendrogram of clusters resulting from chemical diversity showing the grouping of the studied landraces.

3.1. Chemotype I (linalool)

Chemotype I was characterized by high linalool contents. Seven landraces (LR-1, LR-7, LR-16K, LR-9, LR-13, LR-3
and LR-19) belonged to this chemotype. Both linalool and some other important components significantly varied. Linalool
contents were between 37.7 and 60.2% with a mean value of 48.3%. 1,8-Cineole (0.2e14.5%), eugenole (3.1e21.1%) and
d-cadinene (7.4e8.7%) were other important components in the chemotype. Linalool has been reported as the major con-
stituent of the essential oil of O. basilicum originating from Greece (Nacar and Tansi, 2000), USA (Simon et al., 1999),
Holland, India (Grayer et al., 1996) and Italy (Marotti et al., 1996; Labra et al., 2004). Other Ocimum species with high
linalool content such as O. canum (Gupta, 1996; Gupta and Tava, 1997; Ngassoum et al., 2004), O. minimum (Martins
et al., 1999; Lachowicz et al., 1997) and Ocimum selloi (Vieira and Simon, 2000) have been reported.

3.2. Chemotypes II and III (methyl cinnamate and methyl cinnamate/linalool)

The first main component of three landraces (LR-25, LR-23 and LR-20) was methyl cinnamate, divided into two
chemotypes, methyl cinnamate (LR-25 and LR-23) and methyl cinnamate/linalool (LR-20). Methyl cinnamate con-
tents in chemotype II ranged from 58.6 to 63.1%, and average content was 61.0%. Linalool (17.3e27.3%) was the
other component followed by sesquiterpenes, a-cadinol (2.4e2.9%), g-cadinene (1.2e1.6%), d-cadinene (te2.4%)
and zingiberene (1.1e1.3%).
Methyl cinnamate and linalool in chemotype III were the main components of one landrace (LR-20) with 30.3 and
23.2%, respectively. Although linalool content (23.2%) of the landrace was similar to that (21.5%) of chemotype II
(LR-23 and LR-25), methyl cinnamate content was lower than that of chemotype II, and it was classified as a ‘‘different
chemotype’’ (chemotype III). Another marked difference between the chemotypes (II and III) was the percentage of
1,8-cineol (0.1 and 6.1%, respectively). 1,8-Cineole was followed by d-cadinene (5.5%), zingiberene (3.4%) and eu-
genol (3.1%) in chemotype III.
Methyl cinnamate is the main component in the tropical Ocimum chemotype (Vernin and Metzger, 1984) and some
Ocimum species, such as Ocimum americanum var. americanum from Brazil (Vieira and Simon, 2000); O. canum from
S. Tome and Principe islands (Martins et al., 1999). Simon et al. (1999), Vieira and Simon (2000) and Ozek et al. (1995)
reported O. basilicum chemotypes with high methyl cinnamate and linalool contents from USA, Brazil and Turkey, re-
spectively. Lachowicz et al. (1997) described methyl cinnamate as the main component in cinnamon basil in Australia.

3.3. Chemotype IV (methyl eugenol)

Although methyl eugenol is used commercially as a flowering and fragrance agent in food and perfume industries,
there are concerns on its toxicity because of its structural resemblance of carcinogenic estragole and safrole (Phillips,
 I. Telci et al. / Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 34 (2006) 489e497 495

1994). While there are methyl eugenol-rich O. basilicum varieties originating in Turkey (Pascual-Villalobos and Bal-
lesta-Acosta, 2003; Ozcan and Chalchat, 2002), essential oil of one landrace (LR-4) belonged to this chemotype, in
which methyl eugenol was the main component with 34.2%. Other important components were linalool (12.3%), 1,8-
cineole (10.3%), methyl cinnamate (4.6%), eugenol (4.2%) and d-cadinene (3.9%).
Methyl eugenol has been detected as the main component in several O. basilicum varieties (Grayer et al., 1996;
Pascual-Villalobos and Ballesta-Acosta, 2003; Ozcan and Chalchat, 2002), and some Ocimum species such as O. ten-
uiflorum (syn: Ocimum sanctum) (Kothari et al., 2004).

3.4. Chemotype V (citral)

Chemotype V (LR-17, LR-29L, LR-2L and LR-28L) contained high citral contents ranging from 56.6 to 65.6%
with a mean of 61.0%. Linalool (3.2e5.3%), a-bisabolene (2.1e3.4%), geraniol (1.0e3.9%) and methyl eugenol
(0.8e3.3%) were other prominent components in this chemotype. Lemon balm basil has been reported having
a good lemony flavor and high citral content (Morales et al., 1993; Simon et al., 1999). The lemon balm basil is
one of the many hybrids of O. basilicum
O. americanum, and it is known as Ocimum
citriodorum and O. basili-
cum var. citriodorum (Darrah, 1974). Citral is characterized as the main component of O.
citriodorum. It has been
recognized as a variety of O. basilicum (O. basilicum var. citriodorum) by some taxonomists (Darrah, 1974).

3.5. Chemotypes VI and VII (methyl chavicol and methyl chavicol/citral)

The first main component of three landraces (LR-6, LR-10A and LR-26L) was methyl chavicol (estragole), divided
into two chemotypes: methyl chavicol (LR-6 and LR-10A) and methyl chavicol/citral (LR-26L). Methyl chavicol
content in chemotype VI was between 60.3 and 76.3%, and average content was 68.3%. Linalool (1.7e8.4%) was
the other important component followed by 1,8-cineole (0.4e5.0%), d-cadinene (te5.4%), germacrene D (2.4e
2.7%) and methyl eugenol (1.3e3.4%). Methyl chavicol is a component commonly found in basil varieties (Juliani
and Simon, 2002). These chemotypes are similar to chemotypes from Egyptian, which have high methyl chavicol con-
tent with linalool (Vernin and Metzger, 1984). Chemotypes with high methyl chavicol contents have been reported
from Yemen, USA, Thailand, UK (Grayer et al., 1996; Simon et al., 1999) and Brazil (Vieira and Simon, 2000).
Methyl chavicol (41.8%) and citral (33.9%) were the main components in one sample. Linalool (2.7%), trans-b-
caryophyllene (2.5%) and a-bisabolene (2.1%) were other important components of this chemotype (VII). Although
methyl chavicol was the main component in many Ocimum chemotypes, no record is available on any chemotype
having methyl chavicol and citral as the main components. So, the chemotype reported in this study can be considered
as a ‘‘new chemotype’’ in the O. basilicum varieties.

4. Conclusion

Essential oil of 18 basil landraces from Turkey contained mainly monoterpenes and, among these, oxygenated
monoterpenes were the major ones. We identified seven different chemotypes in the landraces: (1) linalool, (2) methyl
cinnamate, (3) methyl cinnamate/linalool, (4) methyl eugenol, (5) citral, (6) methyl chavicol, and (7) methyl chavicol/
citral.
High contents of linalool and methyl chavicol in chemotypes I and VI indicated that these chemotypes could be
considered as European originated chemotypes with some influences of the North African (the Egyptian) chemotypes
with high methyl chavicol contents. Methyl chavicol with high citral contents (chemotype VII) is a ‘‘new chemotype’’
in the Turkish basils. Methyl cinnamate content in chemotype II is similar to that in chemotypes from tropical coun-
tries. Chemotype III is a mixture of European chemotypes and tropical chemotypes with high methyl cinnamate and
linalool contents. Citral is characterized as the main component of chemotype V similar to Lemon balm varieties.
Because methyl eugenol and methyl chavicol (estragole) have structural resemblance to carcinogenic phenylpro-
panoids such as safrole, chemotypes with linalool, methyl cinnamate, citral and their mixture are preferable for cul-
tivation when used in food and perfume industries.
496 I. Telci et al. / Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 34 (2006) 489e497

Acknowledgments

We thank The Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey for financial support (project no: TOGTAG-
3102).

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