Anthemis nobilis L. (Roman Chamomile): In Vitro Culture, Micropropagation, and the Production of Essential Oils
Anthemis nobilis L. (syn. Anthemis odorata Lamk.; Chamaemelum nobile L., All.; Chamaemelum odoratum Dod.; Chamomilla nobilis God.; Leucanthemum odoratum Eid. Ap.; Ormenis nobilis Gay), so-called Roman chamomile, is a perennial herb of the Asteraceae famil
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1 General Account Anthemis nobilis L. (syn. Anthemis odorata Lamk.; Chamaemelum nobile L., All.; Chamaemelum odoratum Dod.; Chamomilla nobilis God.; Leucanthemum odoratum Eid. Ap.; Ormenis nobilis Gay), so-called Roman chamomile, is a perennial herb of the Asteraceae family. It is native to the southwest of Europe (France, Spain, and Portugal), and has spread all over the Europe. It is also present in
southwest Asia (De Langhe et al. 1983; Bezanger-Beauquesne et al. 1986). The plant reaches a height of 15 to 30 cm and gene rally flowers from June to September. A. nobilis plants are cultivated in the south of England, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Egypt, and Argentina. In France (Anjou) more than 160 ha are devoted to this cultivation; the production yield is about 1 ton of dry flowers per ha (Bezanger-Beauquesne et al. 1986). As a result ofbreeding, some ofthe tubular florets present in the wild plant have become ligulated, and it is these "double" or "semi-double" flower heads which form the commercial drug (Fig. 1). The double variety (cultivar) is the main source of the commercial drug today, and has been certainly known since the 18th century; it is sterile, and is propagated vegetatively by suckering. The flowers are collected in dry weather and dried; storage is achieved in the absence of humidity (oxidation of polyphenols). The morphological characteristics and chemical composition of the flower heads of the cultivar variety are different from those of the wild plant. Whole plants, particularly flowers, have a strong aromatic odor and a bitter taste. The Roman chamomile drug is described in several pharmacopeia, where it is indicated that the drug can be falsified by Chrysanthemum parthenium L. and M atricaria maritima flowers. The complete dried flowers are sold by herbalists, while damaged ones are used for the production of essential oil by distillation. One kilogram of fresh flowers yields approximately 1-2g. of essential oil. The production quantities rarely exceed 500 kg of essential oil per year (Arctander 1960; Guenther 1975).
1 Faculte des Sciences Agronomiques, VER Chirnie Generale et Organique, Passage des Deportes 2, 5030 Gembloux, Belgium 2 Laboratory of Plant Morphology, Vniversite Libre de Bruxelles. Chaussee de Wavre 1850, 1160 Brussels, Belgium 3 Tsukuba Medicinal Plant Research Station, National Institute of Health Sciences, 1 Hachimandai, Tsukuba; Ibaraki 305, Japan
Biotechnology in Agriculture and Forestry, Vol. 37 Medicinal and Aromatic Plants IX (ed. by Y.P.S. Bajaj) © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1996
Anthemis nobilis L. (Roman Chamomile)
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Fig.lA,B. Anthemis nobilis L. (Asteraceae). A Wild type B Cultivated variety
1.1 Biologically Active Constituents of A. nobilis (Fig. 2)
The flower heads of A. nobilis contain 80% water, 6 to 7% mineral material, 0.6% bitter principles such as nobiline and its derivatives, pentacyclic triterpenoids (anthesterols, taraxasterol), phytosterols (principally the sistosterol-D-glucoside), and the procyanid
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