Abstract
Medicinal plants represent a valuable commodity due to beneficial effects of their natural products on human health, prompting a need for finding a way to optimize/increase their production. In this study, a novel growing media with various perlite particle size and its mixture with peat moss was tested for hydroponic-based production of Echinacea purpurea medicinal plant under greenhouse conditions. The plant growth parameters such as plant height, total fresh leave weight, fresh root weight, total biomass, total chlorophyll, leaf area, and essential oil compositions were assessed. Perlite particle size in the growing media was varied from very coarse (more than 2 mm) to very fine (less than 0.5 mm), and the ratio between perlite and peat moss varied from 50:50 v/v to 30:70 v/v. In addition, two nitrate (NO3−) to ammonium (NH4+) ratios (90:10 and 70:30) were tested for each growing media. The medium containing very fine-grade perlite and 50:50 v/v perlite to peat moss ratio was found to be most optimal and beneficial for E. purpurea performance, resulting in maximal plant height, fresh and dry weight, leaf surface area, and chlorophyll content. It was also found that an increase in NO3−/NH4+ ratio caused a significant increase in plant growth parameters and increase the plant essential oil content. The major terpene hydrocarbons found in extract of E. purpurea with the best growth parameters were germacrene D (51%), myrcene (15%), α-pinene (12%), β-caryophyllene (11%), and 1-Pentadecene (4.4%), respectively. The percentages of these terpene hydrocarbons were increased by increasing of NO3−/NH4+ ratio. It can be concluded that decreasing the perlite particle size and increasing the NO3−/NH4+ ratio increased the plant growth parameters and essential oil compositions in E. purpurea.
Highlights
Medicinal plants and their beneficial effects on human health are well known in various cultures for c enturies[1]
Plant growth parameters of E. purpurea under different culture media and NO3−/NH4+ ratios at the full flowering stage are shown in Table 2 and Figs. 1 and 2
Plants grown in the 50% perlite + 50% peat moss medium with perlite particle size less than 0.5 mm and 90:10 N O3−/NH4+ ratio had the highest height (Fig. 1), fresh leave weight, fresh root weight (Fig. 2), total biomass, and leaf area
Summary
Medicinal plants and their beneficial effects on human health are well known in various cultures for c enturies[1]. While the industrial application of E. purpurea essential oils is well established, several factors such as weather changes, plant growth s tage[14], and method of cultivation may influence both the composition and production of E. purpurea essential o il[15]. Different hydroponic cultivation methods, such as artificial substrate media, water culture, and nutrient film techniques have been reported for E. purpurea cultivation[18,21]. The particle size of substrates is a critical factor in air and water-holding capacity, root distribution, and plant growth, which are different based on their origin and preparation conditions. In addition to the importance of substrates properties in the hydroponic culture system, attention to the chemical composition of nutrient solution is important[22]. Previous researches demonstrated that the inorganic N application rate and sources could affect the essential oil content of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) and forage maize (Zea mays L.)[25]
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