Impact of soil types on chemical composition of essential oil of purple basil

Abstract

Purple basil is among the most important basil varieties and its essential oil is used for several purposes including medicinal and aromatic uses. Soil types may impact the plant growth, development, and essential oil composition. Hence, it is important to find the most suitable soil type which may produce basil plants having essential oil with the best composition and concentration. For this reason, plant samples of purple basil that were grown in areas with clay, loamy sand, and sandy-clay loam soil types were collected and evaluated to determine the changes in the yield and essential oil components. Essential oil contents were determined with the Clevenger Device, and essential oil compositions were determined by using GC and GC/MS analysis. The highest essential oil yield according to soil types was obtained from the plant samples that were grown in the loamy sand soil. It was also found that the main compounds present in Arapgir town purple basil were methylcinnamate and linalool that was also present in all Turkish purple basil under all types of soil. According to the soil types, the highest concentration (46.03%) of methylcinnamate was observed in loamy sand soils, and the lowest (42.33%) was obtained from sandy-clay loam soils and found to be significantly different. Data regarding correlations between soil types and essential oil ratios showed that organic matter and P2O5 had a significant negative correlation with methylcinnamate. The present study will help researchers and farmers to choose the most suitable soil type to achieve maximum essential oil production from purple basil.