Impact of elicitation and drying methods on biological activities of lovage essential oil

The quality of essential oils (EOs) was dependent on the optimised methods of drying. The highest yield of EOs was noted in plants elicited with 0.1% yeast extract (YE) and dried with the traditional method (1.4 mL 100 g dw(-1)); it was over twice as high as the yield of the control sample (0.58 mL 100 g dw(-1)). (Z)-ligustilide, alpha-terpinyl acetate and beta-phellandrene were the main compounds identified in the samples. The most effective antioxidant activity was exhibited by the sample obtained from plants elicited with 0.1% YE and subjected to freeze-drying. The highest RP and LPO inhibition were determined in samples obtained from plants subjected to jasmonic acid (JA) elicitation and freeze-drying (1.85 and 1.02 mu L mL(-1) respectively). The use of 0.1% JA and microwave-drying was the most effective for inhibition of LOXI activity. The highest acetylcholinesterase inhibition was noted in the freeze-dried sample obtained from plants elicited with YE (86.39 kIU mL(-1)). The samples exhibited the highest antibacterial activity against L. monocytogenes BBA-2660.

Automated summary

The quality of essential oils depends on the optimized drying methods. The highest yield of essential oils was obtained from plants elicited with 0.1% yeast extract and dried traditionally. (Z)-ligustilide, alpha-terpinyl acetate, and beta-phellandrene were the main compounds identified in the samples. The most effective antioxidant activity was found in the sample obtained from plants elicited with 0.1% yeast extract and freeze-dried.