Environmental factors affecting the lipid metabolism in Rosmarinus officinalis L

The effect of some environmental factors on the lipid metabolism was studied in two chemotypes of Rosmarinus officinalis L. Epicuticular hydrocarbons (EH), epicuticular fatty acids (EFA), whole leaf fatty acids (WLFA) and essential oils (EO) were extracted and analysed by GC-MS during winter 1991–1992 and related to temperature and moisture variations. Leaf fresh and dry wts were determined along with some morphophysiological parameters such as specific leaf weight (SLW) and specific leaf area (SLA). Leaf areas were calculated by image analysis and statistically processed as for chemical data. The results indicated that in R. officinalis the response to some environmental factors, with particular reference to temperature and moisture, was an increase in epicuticular hydrocarbons and a decrease in epicuticular fatty acids, leaf fatty acids and essential oils. Qualitative changes in the chemical composition of the above lipid classes were found to be correlated with temperature changes. From a chemosystematic viewpoint, a clear separation between the two chemotypes was achieved only when epicuticular hydrocarbons and essential oils were considered as chemosystematic characters.