Journal of Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Sciences

Abstract

Ocimum (Lamiaceae) is a genus of about 35 species of annual and perennial aromatic herbs and shrubs. Most species are native to the tropical and warm regions of the old world, including India. Keeping in mind the importance of chavibetol from a new source of basil, there is a need to develop a better plant type having high essential oil-yielding traits with better chavibetol content. Previously, CSIR-CIMAP developed several varieties, containing chavibetolrich essential oil, but the essential oil yield could not fulfill the high demand for chavibetol-rich essential oil. Therefore, producing a variety having high essential oil with high chavibetol content with multi-cutting without effects of environment/temperature is helpful. A high-yielding chavibetolrich genotype is of utmost importance, as this will add to the income of farmers and various industries dependent upon the bioactive constituents of Ocimum species. Essential oil with a new aroma like chavibetol and high essential oil is suitable for various innovative cosmetic products/ perfumery industries. It is also used in chewing gum, mouthwash, mouth freshener and aromatherapy for traditional and therapeutic purposes. High essential oil content would also help to formulate value-added industrial products. Piper betel is the primary source of the unique aroma chemical chavibetol, but the cultivation of betel crops is complicated on a large scale. Piper betle crop require specific environments/conditions for good growth and development. Therefore, the newly developed CIM-Suvaas variety of basil essential oil will be a cheaper source of important aroma compound chavibetol. This is also the first report that shows the presence of chavibetol in basil oil.