INFLUENCE OF VARIETAL CHARACTERISTICS MONARDA DIDYMA ON ESSENTIAL NATURAL OILS FROM RAW MATERIALS GROWN IN CONDITIONS OF SOUTHERN STEPPE OF UKRAINE

Abstract

Despite the significant advances in the development o f various synthetic drugs in the new generation, the last decade has seen a growing interest in natural compounds o f plant origin. Vegetable raw materials with a high content of secondary origin compounds are widely used in medicine, perfume, the cosmetic industry and in the food and confectionery industry. The use o f aromatic extracts and medicinal plants ensures the high efficiency in a number o f branches at the reduction of valuable raw material losses, as well as through the issuance o f new types o f products. In this article the impact o f the varietal characteristics o f Monarda didyma on essential oil yield, under the cultivation in conditions o f the Southern Steppe o f Ukraine, was investigated. We researched the indicators o f crop production. Particular attention was concentrated on the analysis o f the plant varieties o f Monarda raw materials structure, because the ethereal oil content greatly depends on the concentration o f oil in particular organs; also the leaves and inflorescences in the ratio o f above-ground mass are the most valuable part of the general crop. The greatest number of Monarda didyma essential oils were stored in above-ground mass during the generative phase o f development. This phase begins in the second year o f the culture's growth. General productivity o f researched varieties was determined in the third week o f June at the same time with the phase o f mass flowering. In this phase o f development o f the plants, the mass o f stems exceeded the weight o f the leaves by 2.0-2.9 times. This significantly affects the essential oil yield, as every organ (stem, leaf, inflorescence) accumulate different amounts o f oil. The essential oil concentration was determined in Monarda didyma aerial shoots o f the samples in the second year o f vegetation. According to received results, the highest amount o f essential oil was accumulated in inflorescences, and the smallest in the stems.The concentration o f the essential oil in vegetable raw materials were: the Slava sort - 1.2% , the Serpanok sort - 0.99% and the Snisjana sort - 1.05%, o f absolutely dry weight. This study has found that the yield o f essential oil from the square meter in the second year o f the culture cultivation ranged from 4.5 to 11.5 g/m2, and it was largely dependent on grade productivity.Also, the morphological structure o f leaf epidermis was studied. Glands were found in large quantities, which are localized in the leaves. They are situated on the abaxial side and the adaxial side o f the leaf. Essential oil glands start their formation in the germination phase and in the phase o f the aerial shoots formation. The largest number o f them was observed in budding stage, and they were located between the stomata gland evenly on the leaf surface. Number and morphology of the glands was not dependent on varietal characteristics.The yield o f essential oil from plants per unit area in the second year o f the culture cultivation was determined by performance grade, by oil concentration in specific organs, and by the structure o f plant material. Most essential oil productivity has been identified in the Slava sort. It can be concluded, that in the conditions o f the Southern Steppe o f Ukraine, you can get a raw Monarda didyma mass, with which you can further isolate a valuable essential oil.