Aroma Profile and Essential Oil Composition of Aromatic Plants with Screening of their Biological Activity

The spontaneous emission (volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of several plants from Mediterranean area as well as their essential oils (EOs) were analyzed to give a concret insight about the fields of applications. The phytochemical analysis of the EOs from different species of Juniperus helped the botanists to distinguish between two cryptospecies. The antibacterial and cytotoxic activities of these EOs were also evaluated. Tunisian henna (Lawsonia inermis) EO was analyzed to look into the plant answer to the abiotic stress. The analyses of the EO of lavender and others cultivar of lavandin from Tyrrhenian area of Tuscany (Italy) was performed to evaluate the possibility to introduce them in organical cultivation under the pedo-climatic conditions of central Italy. Furthermore, the VOC analysis as well as the EOs of Lavandula angustifolia collected in peripheral alpine was achieved to evaluate the latitude and altitude gradient together with the edaphic effects on biomass productivity and EO yield and quality. The analysis of several commercial EOs were assessed on several bacteria, alga and fungi responsible for veterinary diseases as well as for their cytotoxic activity against cancer cell lines. 20 populations of Helichrysum italicum collected in different Mediterranean sites were extracted to give the EOs which were analyzed to evidence the different composition related to the three subspecies. Moreover, eight new South African Helichrysum spp. grown under the same environmental conditions were analyzed in order to improve their use in both ornamental and medicine fields.