Chemical composition of dill(Anethum graveolens L.) and parsley( Petroselinum sativum L.) essential oil in different culture media

The emphasis of the World Health Organization on the gradual replacement of natural materials instead of chemicals has caused different countries of the world to invest, and, plan mass production of medicinal plants at the industrial levels and use them in the pharmaceutical, food and, health industries. Although the production of secondary metabolites depends on genetic factors, it is significantly influenced by environmental factors. The effects of different growth conditions (field and greenhouse) on the quantity and quality of essential oil of dill( Anethum graveolens L.) and parsley( Petroselinum sativum L.) were studied. Field cultivation was done on agricultural land in the Kerman Baqerabad region. In the greenhouse cultivation, germinated seeds were planted in pots with loamy soil( 2/3) and vermicompost (1/3) and, cocopeat and perlite. Rorison solution was used for feeding plants in pots. Plants were harvested after 3 months. Essential oils of 100 grams of dried herbs were isolated by water distillation using Clevenger apparatus. Essential oil analysis was done by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/ MS). According to the results obtained from the compounds identified in the essential oil of dill, the highest amounts of components were alpha-phellandrene (54.5%), phytol (18.65%) and apiol (49.2%) in the field, loamy-vermicompost and cocopeat-perlite media respectively. In parsley essential oil, myristicin was the highest in all three culture media.