Ameliorative Effect of Triacontanol on the Growth, Photosynthetic Pigments, Enzyme Activities and Active Constituents of Essential Oil of Ocimum basilicum L

Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is an aromatic herb that has been used traditionally as a diverse medicinally herb for curing various diseases including common cold, headache, malaria, heart disease, stomach and kidney disorders. Its essential oil (EO) is used in the manufacturing of cosmetic and pharmaceutical products as well as aroma therapy. Keeping the medicinal as well as economical importance of this herb in mind, a simple pot experimenrt was conducted to determine whether foliar sprays of triacontanol (TRIA) could enhance growth, yield and EO production of basil. The plants grown in pots containing soil were sprayed twice with deionised water (control) and three concentrations of TRIA (10, 10, 10 M) at 50 and 60 days after sowing. A foliar spray of TRIA at 10 M significantly enhanced shoot and root lengths, leaf area, fresh and dry weights, chlorophyll and carotenoid contents, activities of nitrate reductase and carbonic anhydrase, leaf-protein and carbohydrate contents and EO content of basil. GLC analysis revealed that major components of O. basilicum EO were linalool (41.26%), methyl eugenol (35.30%), and eugenol (12.68%) as significantly improved by TRIA application. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________