Integrated and sustainable agroecological production for medicinal plants: a proposal based on strategic management

A management plan based on Integrated and Sustainable Agroecological Production (Pais) technology for the cultivation of medicinal plants, through a case study. The Swot-AHP technique was adopted to evaluateproblems to agroecological cultivation, indicating stages of the implementation work, before the physical structuring of the project, integrated with a participative social action with employees of the institution who revealed the use of 64 medicinal plants, highlighting boldo, lemongrass, and lemon balm, while 174 plant species were identified in official Brazilian documents. The lack of electricity and funding delays by funders are the most significant problems, while the space for work and gardening courses are the best potential. The integration of these data has proposed the implementation of teams for fundraising and project implementation, based on a list of medicinal species to compose the future structure made with Pais social technology.

The effectiveness of agro-technological methods of medicinal crops growing on irrigation

The article presents the results of experimental studies on optimizing the planting density of medicinal plants of the Lamiaceae Juss family. (Gubotsviti) as a factor in the formation of their productivity in conditions of drip irrigation. Research work has been carried out with the most common medicinal crops of this family: oregano (Origanum vulgare L.), lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.), peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) in the conditions of the Left-Bank Forest-Steppe of Ukraine during 2016-2020 on the lands of the Experimental Station of Medicinal Plants of the Institute of Agroecology and Nature Management of NAAS (Lubny district of Poltava region) with the participation of the Institute of Water Problems and Land Reclamation of NAAS. In a one-factor field experiment, 8 elementary variants of planting density were studied: from 33 thousand / ha to 222,0 thousand /ha. Studies have shown that, despite genetic relatedness, members of the family Lamiaceae Juss. have a demonstrably different response to the density of planting under drip irrigation. Thus, the highest yield of dried oregano grass for both the first and second year of cultivation was obtained in the variant with a planting density of 166,7 thousand plants / ha. The most productive crops of lemon balm in the first and second years of cultivation were at a density of 83,3 thousand plants / ha. The highest yield of thyme for the first year was obtained in the variant of 222,0 thousand plants / ha, and for the second year - in the variant with a density of 111,0 thousand plants / ha. Peppermint formed the highest productivity at densities of 55,6 thousand plants /ha in both the first and second year of the growing season. A new scientific result is the obtained dependences of the yield of medicinal plants of the family Lamiaceae Juss. from the number of plants per unit area, which are described by the corresponding mathematical equations.

LC-MS Identification and Quantification of Phenolic Compounds in Solid Residues from the Essential Oil Industry

Plant solid residues obtained from the essential oil industry represent a rich source of phenolic compounds with bioactive properties to be used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. A selective and sensitive liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) method was developed for the simultaneous determination of phenolic compounds in solid residues of the Lamiaceae family plants. A total of 48 compounds can be separated within 35 min by using the Poroshell-120 EC-C18 column, and a gradient mobile phase of 0.1% formic acid and acetonitrile with flow rate of 0.5 mL/min; salicylic acid was used as internal standard. The calibration curves showed good linearity in the tested concentration range for each analyte (R2 > 0.9921), while recoveries ranged from 70.1% to 115.0% with an intra-day and inter-day precision of less than 6.63% and 15.00%, respectively. Based on the retention behavior, as well as absorption and mass spectra, 17 phenolic acids, 19 flavonoids and 2 phenolic diterpenes were identified and quantified in the solid residues obtained by distillation of six aromatic plants: oregano, rosemary, sage, satureja, lemon balm, and spearmint. The method constitutes an accurate analytical and quality control tool for the simultaneous quantitation of phenolics present in solid waste residues from the essential oil industry.

Lemon Balm and Corn Silk Extracts Mitigate High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity in Mice

Lemon balm and corn silk are valuable medicinal herbs, which exhibit variety of beneficial effects for human health. The present study explored the anti-obesity effects of a mixture of lemon balm and corn silk extracts (M-LB/CS) by comparison with the effects of single herbal extracts in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity in mice. HFD supplementation for 84 days increased the body weight, the fat mass density, the mean diameter of adipocytes, and the thickness of fat pads. However, oral administration of M-LB/CS significantly alleviated the HFD-mediated weight gain and adipocyte hypertrophy without affecting food consumption. Of the various combination ratios of M-LB/CS tested, the magnitude of the decreases in weight gain and adipocyte hypertrophy by administration of 1:1, 1:2, 2:1, and 4:1 (w/w) M-LB/CS was more potent than that by single herbal extracts alone. In addition, M-LB/CS reduced the HFD-mediated increases in serum cholesterol, triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein, prevented the reduction in serum high-density lipoprotein, and facilitated fecal excretion of cholesterol and triglyceride. Moreover, M-LB/CS mitigated the abnormal changes in specific mRNAs associated with lipogenesis and lipolysis in the adipose tissue. Furthermore, M-LB/CS reduced lipid peroxidation by inhibiting the HFD-mediated reduction in glutathione, catalase, and superoxide dismutase. Therefore, M-LB/CS is a promising herbal mixture for preventing obesity.

Optimization of in vitro rooting and ex vitro adaptation conditions of Melissa officinalis L. microshoots during clonal micropropagation

Melissa officinalis L. is a perennial herbaceous essential and medicinal plant widely used in pharmacology, perfumery and cosmetics, as well as in alcoholic beverage and food industries. The low content of essential oil in lemon balm raw material determines the selection work aimed at creating high-oil cultivars. The use of clonal micropropagation method in vitro will increase the efficiency of this process and accelerate promising breeding samples multiplication. The aim of our research was to study the influence of cultivation conditions and cultivar on the M. officinalis in vitro rhizogenesis and ex vitro adaptation. It was found that the maximum frequency of shoot rooting (up to 93.3%) in cultivars ‘Citronella’ and ‘Sobornaya’ was on MS culture medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/l NAA. The number of roots was 10.1 and 13.6 pcs. per shoot, respectively. The highest rates of root formation for the cv. ‘Crimchanka’ was found on a culture medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/l IAA (8.7 roots per shoot). The mixture of peat, sand and perlite (2:1:2) as a substrate provided up to 93% of adapted ex vitro lemon balm microplants. The presented studies were used to develop a technique for clonal micropropagation of M. officinalis.

Optimization of rosmarinic acid extraction from lemon balm (Melissa officinalis)

The aim of this study was optimization of rosmarinic acid extraction from lemon balm (Melissa officinalis). The optimal conditions for the extraction of rosmarinic acid from lemon balm were determined using response surface methodology (RSM). A center composide design (CCD) was used to investigate the effects of three independent variables, namely solid-liquid radio, solvent composition (%) and extraction temperature (°C). Dependent variable was yield of rosmarinic acid. A second-order polynomial model was used for predicting the response. Optimized conditions for rosmarinic acid were: PEME 1:29 (w/v), temperature 66 °C a % propan-2-ol 34 %. The experimental values agreed with predicted within a 95 % confidence interval. Yield of rosmarinic acid extraction by these optimized conditions was achieved 72.6 mg of rosmarinic acid / g of dry extraction matter.