In Vitro Production of Essential Oil from Proliferating Shoots of Rosmarinus officinalis1

The 40-day-old IN VITRO proliferating shoots of ROSMARINUS OFFICINALIS L. var. GENUINA forma ERECTUS produced an appreciable quantity of essential oil, i.e., 1.8% fw, which was similar in its constituents to that obtained from 1-year-old plants, whether naturally grown or IN VITRO-raised potted plants. However, the quantity of various constituents identified so far was generally, but marginally, less in the former case than the latter two kinds of 1-year-old plants with the exception of bornyl acetate and 1,8-cineole, the concentrations of which were higher in the proliferated shoots than the plants. The essential oil content of 1-year-old naturally grown plants was 2.4% fw, while it was 2.38% fw in the IN VITRO-raised potted plants of the same age.