Search Results (6)

Plants of the genus Lavandula are widely studied for their pharmaceutical and food relevance. The composition of lavender essential oil is primarily genotype-dependent but also influenced by environment, developmental stage, and morphology. This study assessed biomass, morphology, oil yield, and chemical composition of seven cultivars (L. angustifolia Boston Blue, L. angustifolia Dwarf Blue, L. Abrialis, L. Super A, L. Super Z, L. Maime, and L. sumiens) cultivated in Tuscany (Italy) over two growing seasons years (2019–2020 and 2020–2021) at two sites (IT and VR). Most morphological traits were significantly affected by cultivar, site, and year, with IT and lavandin cultivars outperforming VR and true lavender. Cultivar strongly influenced compound concentrations, confirming genetic control. True lavender oils showed distinctive profiles compared to ISO 3515:2002/Cor 1:2004 and the literature: lower linalool (~12.8% vs. 25–38%), higher linalyl acetate (~22.7% vs. 25–45%), negligible camphor (~0%), and very low 1,8-cineole (0.7%). Lavandin oils matched ISO 8902:2009 and the literature for major compounds (1,8-cineole 7%, camphor 8.9%, and linalool 23.4%), except for linalyl acetate (14.2%), below the standard range (20–38%). Overall, cultivar choice significantly shaped essential oil yield and chemical profiles, highlighting genetic and environmental interactions that are crucial for lavender breeding and industrial applications. Full article

Lavandin (Lavandula × intermedia Emeric ex Loisel.) was brought to the Island of Hvar (Croatia) in the 1920s, coinciding with the beginning of large-scale cultivation of lavandin in France. Although the cultivation of lavandin and the production of essential oils are of great importance worldwide, the genetic diversity of lavandin has been little studied. We performed an AFLP-based genetic analysis that included the landraces ‘Bila’ and ‘Budrovka’ and two lavandin cultivars from France ‘Grosso’ and ‘Abrialis’, as well as the parental species of the hybrid (L. angustifolia and L. latifolia). Distance-based cluster analysis revealed the existence of the third landrace, named ‘Budrovka Sveti Nikola’. This result was confirmed by the model-based cluster analyses implemented in STRUCTURE and BAPS, where the optimal number of clusters was three. ‘Budrovka’ clearly separated from all other samples, while ‘Bila’ and ‘Budrovka Sveti Nikola’ showed some degree of admixture, indicating ancestral polyclonality. The landrace ‘Bila’ showed higher polymorphism than ‘Budrovka’ and ‘Budrovka Sveti Nikola’. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed that genetic diversity (56.63%) was higher within landraces than among (43.37%). This research will provide a basis for conservation of the Island landraces and will help in the establishment of a high-quality regional brand. Full article

Lavandin essential oil (LEO), a natural sterile hybrid obtained by crossbreeding L. angustifolia × L. latifolia, is mainly composed by active components belonging to the family of terpenes endowed with relevant anti-proliferative activity, which can be enhanced by proper application of nanotechnology. In particular, this study reports the chemical characterization and the screening of the anti-proliferative activity on different human cell lines of pure and nano-formulated lavandin essential oil (EO). LEO and its formulation (NanoLEO) were analyzed by HS/GC-MS (Headspace/Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry) to describe and compare their chemical volatile composition. The most abundant compounds were linalool and 1,8-cineole (LEO: 28.6%; 27.4%) (NanoLEO: 60.4%; 12.6%) followed by α-pinene (LEO: 9.6%; NanoLEO: 4.5%), camphor (LEO: 6.5%; NanoLEO: 7.0%) and linalyl acetate (LEO: 6.5%; NanoLEO: 3.6%). The cytotoxic effects of LEO and NanoLEO were investigated on human neuroblastoma cells (SHSY5Y), human breast adenocarcinoma cells (MCF-7), human lymphoblastic leukemia cells (CCRF CEM), human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells (Caco-2) and one normal breast epithelial cell (MCF10A) by the MTT (3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide)-assay. Caco-2, MCF7 and MCF10A normal cells resulted more resistant to the treatment with LEO, while CCRF-CEM and SHSY5Y cells were more sensitive. The antiproliferative effect of LEO resulted amplified when the essential oil was supplied as nanoformulation, mainly in Caco-2 cells. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy investigations were carried out on Caco-2 cells to outline at ultrastructural level possible affections induced by LEO and NanoLEO treatments. Full article

Recent scientific investigations have reported a number of essential oils to interfere with intracellular signalling pathways and to induce apoptosis in different cancer cell types. In this paper, Lavandin Essential Oil (LEO), a natural sterile hybrid obtained by cross-breeding L. angustifolia × L. latifolia, was tested on human leukaemia cells (HL60). Based on the MTT results, the reduced cell viability of HL60 cells was further investigated to determine whether cell death was related to the apoptotic process. HL60 cells treated for 24 h with LEO were processed by flow cytometry, and the presence of Annexin V was measured. The activation of caspases-3 was evaluated by western blot and immunofluorescence techniques. Treated cells were also examined by scanning and transmission electron microscopy to establish the possible occurrence of morphological alterations during the apoptotic process. LEO main compounds, such as linalool, linalyl acetate, 1,8-cineole, and terpinen-4-ol, were also investigated by MTT and flow cytometry analysis. The set of obtained results showed that LEO treatments induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent, but not time-dependent, manner on HL60 cells, while among LEO main compounds, both terpinen-4-ol and linalyl acetate were able to induce apoptosis. Full article

Essential oils from Lavandula genus and the obtained hybrids are widely used for different purposes such as perfume production in the cosmetic field and for its biological properties. This is the first study on the liquid and vapour phase of Lavandula × intermedia “Grosso” essential oil grown in the Lazio Region, Italy, investigated using headspace coupled to gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (HS-GC/MS). The results showed the most abundant components were linalool and linalyl acetate, followed by 1,8-cineole and terpinen-4-ol, while lavandulyl acetate and borneol were identified as minor compounds, maintaining the same proportion in both the liquid and vapour phase. Furthermore, we tested lavandin liquid and vapour phase essential oil on gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter bohemicus, and Pseudomonas fluorescens) and gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus cereus and Kocuria marina). Full article

The essential oils of Lavandula angustifolia and the Lavandin hybrids "super" and "special" grown in Greece, were studied in order to evaluate their quality as far as the correlation of their essential oil composition. The essential oil yields were determined to 4.4%, 7.5% and 8.5% in the lavandula and lavandin "super" and "special" hybrids respectively. Fifty-nine constituents were identiiied representing the 99% of the oils. The qualitative analysis of the oils was carried out by GCIMS and revealed that linalool and linalylacetate were the predominant constituents. Remarkable differences were noticed between the camphor percentages among them (11.35% and 5.03% for the "super " and "special" respectively). Full article