Influence of mineral nutrition on plant development and chemical composition of volatile oils of Porophyllum ruderale (Jacq.) Cass subspecies

The objective of this study was to find out the influence of soil nutrition on the composition of volatile oils of Porophyllum ruderale subsp. macrocephalum and Porophyllum ruderale subsp. ruderale. The seedlings were transplanted into pots containing sand as substrate. Every seven days, different Hoagland solutions were applied: Complete solution and solution lacking, respectively nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur and a control. The experiment was done in a randomized block with eight treatments and five replicates. For biometrics, height, leaf area and dry mass of shoots were analyzed. The average was compared by Tukey test (5%) probability. Aerial parts were collected and oil was extracted by hydrodistillation in Clevenger apparatus for 4 h. The major components of P. ruderale subsp. ruderale were trans-β-ocimene monoterpene, limonene and hydrocarbon undecene. As for the P. ruderale subsp. macrocephalum, the major component was monoterpene limonene and undecene hydrocarbon. The results of biometric analyses in this work showed that the two species have different growth. Treatments without nitrogen, phosphorus and the control had the lowest average and increased undecene content in the two subspecies. The chemical composition of volatile oils nutrition did not interfere significantly in their composition. Monoterpene limonene was the highest in macrocephalum subspecies. Key words: Brazilian medicinal plants, fertilizers.