VOLATILES FROM CORIANDRUM SATIVUM: COMPARISON OF IN VITRO AND IN VIVO GROWN PLANTS

The volatiles of fruits and of leaves and stems of in vivo and in vitro Coriandrum sativum plants, established by micropropagation in MS medium, with (A) and without (B) purple pigmentation, were studied. The volatiles were isolated by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC and GC-MS. In the fruits linalool (82%), γ-terpinene (4%), camphor (3%) and geraniol (3%) dominated as major compounds. Linalool was present in the volatile fractions of A and B in vitro and of in vivo grown plants in small relative amounts (0.1, 0.1 and 0.3%, respectively). Dodecanal (17%), dodecanol (17%), n-tetradecanol (15%) and decanal (10%) were the dominant compounds in the in vivo plants volatiles. β-phellandrene (37% in A, 45% in B), terpinolene (9% in both), β-sesquiphellandrene (4% in A, 6% in B) and α-phellandrene (2% in A, 3% in B) were the major identified compounds in the volatiles of A and B in vitro grown plants. Despite the anthocyanin production in A in vitro grown plants, the volatile profile was quantitatively and qualitatively very similar to that of B in vitro grown plants. The volatile composition of in vitro grown plants is qualitatively similar to the fruits volatiles and very different from the in vivo plants volatiles.