Environmental assessment of the essential oils produced from dragonhead (Dracocephalum moldavica L.) in conventional and organic farms with different irrigation rates

Plant-derived drugs can be effective specifically and selectively without side effects in specific instances. The importance of traditional herbal medicinal systems has gained acceptability in developed countries. The environmental and health concerns associated with chemical fertilizers have led to an increase in organic farming practices. Azolla is a nearly complete organic fertilizer on its own, due to valuable growth enhancers such as hormones and other plant growth promoting compounds it contains. Therefore, the aim of this research was to investigate the effects of Azolla extract as biofertilizer on Dracocephalum Moldavica L. (a medicinal plant) essential oils over two seasons (2015-2016 and 2016-2017) in Rafsanjan, a water-limited area of Iran. Azolla liquid extracts (extracted using microwave and solvent extraction) were mineral rich. A life cycle assessment was performed for environmental analysis of essential oil production. In this research, various scenarios have been defined and studied based on varying irrigation levels, as well as the amount and type of fertilization. The results showed that the best scenario for the production of essential oils was the use of microwave-extracted Azolla biofertilizer in combination with the lowest level of irrigation. This result is highly valued due to water shortages in the area of study. With IMPACT 2002+, the production of per kg of essential oil resulted in an environmental damage equal to 10.1to 14.1 mPt with the main reason being electricity consumption in the extraction of essential oils. These results show that replacing conventional chemical fertilizers with biofertilizer will reduce the potential for environmental and health risks; and if electricity consumption in its processing is reduced through better efficiency or produced more sustainably (such as solar production), it will reduce the contribution to global warming and reliance on non-renewable resources.