Pelargonium Hybrid Research Articles

Phytochemical constituents and therapeutic effects of the essential oil of rose geranium (Pelargonium hybrid) cultivated in Lebanon

The current study provides the first comprehensive assessment of rose geranium oil (commercially referred to as a hybrid of Pelargonium graveolens L'Hér.) extracted from plants cultivated in Lebanon. The chemical composition was deciphered by GC–MS, and citronellol (30.5%), citronellyl formate (15.9%), trans-geraniol (12.8%), linalool (8.6%), and isomenthone (8.0%) were the major constituents. The oil composition most closely resembles rose geranium oil from Egypt. The essential oil exhibited weak antioxidant activity with only 16% inhibition achieved at 2.2 mg/mL in the DPPH radical-scavenging assay. The antiinflammatory activity of the essential oil was evaluated in three different setups, namely albumin denaturation, heat induced hemolysis, and nitric oxide scavenging activity, where a dose-dependent response was observed in the different assays. Assessment of the antibacterial activity of the essential oil revealed a bactericidal effect against the tested bacterial strains. The essential oil showed good cytotoxicity against HCT 116 human colon cancer cells with an IC50 value of 74 µg/mL as determined by the MTT cell viability assay. In the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition assay, the oil displayed a dose-dependent inhibition of AChE enzyme with an IC50 value of 10.5 mg/mL, thus highlighting the antiAlzheimer's protection potential of the extract. Finally, no significant hemolytic activity was observed even at the highest tested concentration (5 mg/mL). In conclusion, rose geranium oil produced in Lebanon demonstrated promising biological properties, and its cultivation for medicinal and industrial applications is highly recommended.

Spontaneous polyploidisation of interspecific and intersectional Pelargonium hybrids during embryo rescue

Spontaneous polyploidisation of interspecific and intersectional Pelargonium hybrids during embryo rescue

Biparental inheritance of organelles in Pelargonium: evidence for intergenomic recombination of mitochondrial DNA

While uniparental transmission of mtDNA is widespread and dominating in eukaryotes leaving mutation as the major source of genotypic diversity, recently, biparental inheritance of mitochondrial genes has been demonstrated in reciprocal crosses of Pelargonium zonale and P. inquinans. The thereby arising heteroplasmy carries the potential for recombination between mtDNAs of different descent, i.e. between the parental mitochondrial genomes. We have analyzed these Pelargonium hybrids for mitochondrial intergenomic recombination events by examining differences in DNA blot hybridization patterns of the mitochondrial genes atp1 and cob. Further investigation of these genes and their flanking regions using nucleotide sequence polymorphisms and PCR revealed DNA segments in the progeny, which contained both P. zonale and P. inquinans sequences suggesting an intergenomic recombination in hybrids of Pelargonium. This turns Pelargonium into an interesting subject for studies of recombination and evolutionary dynamics of mitochondrial genomes.

Tissue‐specific mechanical microdissection of higher plants

Higher plants are multicellular organisms, which exhibit a high degree of differentiation with respect to their anatomy, metabolism and gene expression. Analysing entire plants or organs results in an average of information of all tissues and cells included in the sample. In this way neither physiological processes nor gene expression can be attributed to particular tissues. For revealing the contributions of specific tissues to the overall metabolism and the gene expression, highly spatially resoluted cell sampling is a prerequisite. Here, mechanical microdissection (MMD), a low cost and easy to handle alternative to existing sampling techniques (e.g. laser‐assisted microdissection or glass capillary–based sampling) was tested on several plant species (Arabidopsis thaliana L., Cucurbita maxima Duch., Hordeum vulgare L. and Pelargonium hybrid cultivar ‘Graveolens’). The applicability and potential of MMD for separating tissues from different organs of these plants was demonstrated. Furthermore, A. thaliana samples were, as examples, tested for their RNA quality by reverse transcription–PCR and for tissue specificity by amplifying messenger RNA of tissue marker genes.

Characterization of Portuguese-Grown Geranium Oil (Pelargonium sp.)

The chemical composition of the Portuguese-grown geranium essential oil (Pelargonium hybrid) cultivated in northern Portugal, which also grows wild, was examined. It was found that the geranium oil herein obtained had characteristics intermediate between Bourbon and China types, with good olfactory quality and presenting characteristics different from those previously studied. The essential oils of fresh/dried and green/yellow geranium leaves were compared. Solvent extraction methods were also employed and the composition of the respective absolutes was determined and compared with the essential oil. It was concluded that using air-dried plant and yellow leaves improved the quality of geranium oil. Moreover, the absolute obtained from a diethyl ether extract had the best organoleptic properties of the extracts studied.

Esters in Australian Geranium Oil (Pelargonium Hybrid)

This paper is the first detailed report of straight chain and branched esters in Australian geranium oil. Hydrodistillation of 41 samples of Australian-grown rose geranium (Pelargoniun hybrid) produced oils containing four detectable parent alcohols; 2-phenylethanol (0.9%), citronellol (16.9%), nerol (0.9%) and geraniol (11.3%) and 47 of their esters. The esters present were formates (19.7%), tiglates (4.0%), propanoates (2.4%), butyrates (1.6%), iso-esters (1.2%), acetates (0.8%) and other esters (0.3%). Gas chromatography using a non-polar BPX-5 column, separated the esters with citronellyl esters emerging regularly before neryl (ΔRI = 9) and geranyl (ΔRI = 33) esters. Iso-esters emerged before their straight chain namesakes (ΔRI = −50).

Chiral Excess: Measuring the Chirality of Geographically and Seasonally Different Geranium Oils

Essential oils from Australian grown rose geranium (Pelargonium hybrid) G1 clone, were analyzed regularly over a three year period using chiral and normal column gas chromatography. The G1 oil was compared to other commercial geranium oils using ten key chiral compounds. Comparisons were made using the new concept called chiral excess (CE), the first eluting enantiomer minus the second eluting enantiomer, and total excess (TE), the sum of all the CE's. This concept allowed the chirality of geranium oils to be expressed as a single number. TE was used to help distinguish between 18 geographically different and 24 seasonally different commercial oils. Applications of TE include classification of other chiral-containing oils and the detection of adulterants in essential oils.

Citronellol: geraniol ratios and temperature in geranium (Pelargonium hybrid)

SummaryConcentrations of citronellol and geraniol in essential oil from rose geranium (Pelargonium hybrid) were monitored monthly over four years using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Geraniol concentrations fell in winter and citronellol concentrations increased in spring. The citronellol/geraniol (C:G) ratio was a more sensitive indicator of change in oil composition than the concentration of either alcohol in isolation. C:G ratios rose sharply if the minimum air temperature (Tmin) fell below 5.58C for any time during the 5 d prior to monthly harvesting. A nonlinear model is proposed to predict the C:G ratio at any Tmin. High C:G ratios indicated cold stress in geranium plants.

DNA Amplification Fingerprinting Used to Distinguish Series of Cutting, Seedling, and Ivy Leaf Geranium

The objective was to distinguish between series of cultivars of Pelargonium xhortorum (zonal geranium), Pelargonium hybrids (seed geranium), and Pelargonium peltatum (ivy leaf geranium) using DNA amplification fingerprinting (DAF) demonstrating the utility of DAF for patent protection to prevent infringement of inventor's rights. Leaf tissue of 10 plants of each cultivar of seedling geranium was bulked for DNA extraction, and cutting and ivy geranium cultivars were bulks of five plants of each cultivar. Isolated DNA from different cultivars of a series were bulked together in their respective series. Seedling geranium series included Dynamo, Glamour, Multibloom, Orbit, Pinto, and Ringo 2000. Cutting geranium series included Designer and Showcase. Ivy geraniums were from the Guillou group. Amplification was with one of two octamer primers, followed by reamplifying with one of four different mini hairpin primers. Gels were visually scored for presence or absence of bands. The four primers generated 336 bands. The average number of bands (_1000 bp) per primer was 40. Twenty percent of bands were polymorphic and distinguished between each series of cultivars. Genetic relationships were evaluated by SAHN cluster analysis based on the distance estimator of Dice using the NTSYS-pc program (Numerical taxonomy and multivariate analysis system, version 1.8). Series were grouped according to species. Seedling geraniums were in one large group, the two cutting geraniums were grouped together and the ivy leaf geraniums were a separate branch.

Interspecific Crossability and Inheritance in Pelargonium

AbstractDifferent Pelargonium hybrids are of great importance to horticulture. Breeding; for F1 hybrid and clonal eultivars is particularly prevalent in Europe, Japan and North America. The results of a great deal of breeding research are scattered throughout different journals and published in several different languages. The aim of this review is to summarize the results of research on interspecific crosses and the inheritance of flower and leaf colour, plant habit, resistance and floret type.

The Effects of Oil-based Fungicides on Water Loss of Coleus blumei Leaves and Pelargonium Hybrid Petals

Effects of oil-based fungicides on plant surfaces were studied by assessing water loss from excised sprayed leaves or petals and by microscopy. Two fungicides (Turbair Zineb Fungicide and Turbair Copper Fungicide) were sprayed, using a Potter tower, onto the adaxial surfaces of excised leaves or petals, and weight loss was determined as a measure of water loss. Doses of approximately 4–9 g m−2 significantly increased water loss from Pelargonium hybrid petals and leaves of Coleus blumei Benth. The fungicides, their supernatants and the carrier oil increased water loss from the petals but effects of the supernatants and the carrier oil on C. blumei leaves were less conclusive. Low Temperature Scanning Electron Microscopy (LTSEM) did not reveal any scoring or marked erosion of the adaxial surface of leaves or petals 24 h after application of the fungicides.

Effects of Nitrogen, Phosphate and time of cutting on Green Material and Oil Yields from Geranium (Pelargonium Hybrid) in West Kenya

SummarySince the profitability of the geranium crop depends to a great extent on the total yield of oil per acre, methods of increasing this yield are of prime importance. Two trials were laid down to determine the responses to nitrogen, phosphate and cutting at various times during the year. Phosphate increased total weight of green material, nitrogen had little effect, and neither significantly affected the yield of oil per ton cut. Time of cutting influenced both oil and green material yields. Climatic factors producing higher yields of green material had the opposite effect on yields of oil per ton of material cut, and vice versa. Fertilizers had no discernable effect on oil quality, but there was an appreciable difference between oil produced after wet and dry periods.