Effects of copper sulphate (CuSO4) elicitation on the chemical constitution of volatile compounds and the in vitro development of Basil

Basil produces important compounds for the industrial manufacture of medicines, cosmetics, and food that are obtained by conventional production techniques. In vitro cultivation has contributed to the increasing reliability of the production, and efficient isolation, of target compounds independent of seasonal factors. We sought to assess the effects of copper sulfate on seedling growth and the elicitation of chemical constituents of the essential oil of basil leaves cultivated in vitro. Basil seedlings were grown in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium enriched with 25 and 75 μM CuSO4, as well as in control treatments. Essential oils obtained from the hydrodistillation of dried leaves were subjected to GC-MS analysis. The GC-MS and PCA analyses indicated the presence of two predominant volatile groups: Phenylpropanoids (77.81%) in the 25 μM CuSO4 treatment, with eugenol and methyl eugenol as major components, with industrial and pharmacological importance; and Monoterpenes (69.72%), in the 75 μMCuSO4 treatment and control, subdivided into monoterpene hydrocarbons (19.36%) and oxygenated monoterpenes (50.36%), with 1,8 cineole and linalool as major components.MS medium enriched with 25 μM CuSO4 resulted in seedlings with longer and more numerous leaves, which would be important for oil extraction. That Cu concentration probably affected the phenylpropanoid metabolic pathway, which is triggered mainly under plant stress situations.