Abstract
BackgroundSeveral members of the Lamiaceae family of plants produce large amounts of essential oil [EO] that find extensive applications in the food, cosmetics, personal hygiene, and alternative medicine industries. There is interest in enhancing EO metabolism in these plants.Main bodyLavender produces a valuable EO that is highly enriched in monoterpenes, the C10 class of the isoprenoids or terpenoids. In recent years, substantial effort has been made by researchers to study terpene metabolism and enhance lavender EO through plant biotechnology. This paper reviews recent advances related to the cloning of lavender monoterpene biosynthetic genes and metabolic engineering attempts aimed at improving the production of lavender monoterpenes in plants and microbes.ConclusionMetabolic engineering has led to the improvement of EO quality and yield in several plants, including lavender. Furthermore, several biologically active EO constituents have been produced in microorganisms.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
