S25 - Session P3 - Production of essential oils from different species in two localities of Aragón, Spain

Authors: Juliana Navarro Rocha *, David Gimeno, Azucena Gonzalez-Coloma

The demand of essential (EO) is increasing due to the interest of different industries (agrifood, cosmetic and pharmaceutical) in substituting chemically-synthetized constituents. Thus, it is necessary to cultivate medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) in a standardized way, in order to ensure the constant and homogeneous production for the industry. Moreover, the need to protect plant biodiversity, create an opportunity for farmers and foresters to diversify their production and improve their income. Five species ( Satureja montana L . , Origanum vulgare L. subs. virens, Salvia officinalis L., and Lavandula x intermedia Emeric ex Loisel. 'Grosso' and 'Super') were cultivated and harvested during four years in two localities, Bernues and Ejea de los Caballeros (Aragon, Spain). EO distillation was conducted at pilot plant scale, in a semi-industrial steam drag with at least 50 kg of dry biomass. The results of yield and chemical characterization of the respective essential oils will be presented. Although Origanum vulgare subs. virens cultivated in Bernues presented higher yield in 2018 (0.337%) and 2019 (0.470%), similar EO production was observed between locations for the rest of the species. Moreover, no significant differences were observed in the average yield of the different species between localities due to the fluctuations in the individual yields, which could be attributed to the climatic conditions of each season. This suggests that the species evaluated can be an alternative crop for different edafoclimatic zones of Aragon with an essential oil yield in the average of the selected species.