Growth and essential oil composition of hairy root cultures of Levisticum officinale W.D.J. Koch (lovage)

Transformed root cultures of Levisticum officinale (lovage) were established by inoculation of aseptically grown seedlings with Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain A4 carrying plasmid pRiA4::70GUS. Hairy roots growth in four different types of liquid culture media was determined by the dissimilation method and by measuring the fresh and dry weight of the roots. The composition of the essential oils from the hairy roots and from lovage plant roots was analysed by GC and GC-MS. The main components of the oil samples from the hairy roots were falcarinol, (Z)-ligustilide, (Z)-3-butylidenephthalide, trans-β-farnesene, β-phellandrene, n-octanal, γ-elemene and n-heptanal, in varying amounts depending on the culture media tested. The hairy roots essential oil yields ranged from 0.006 to 0.018% (v/fr. wt.). The main components of the oil from the lovage plant roots were (Z)-ligustilide, β-pinene, pentylcyclohexadiene and α-pinene. The yield of the oil from the lovage plant roots was 0.16% (v/fr. wt.).