Influence of Organic and Mineral Soil Fertilization on Essential Oil of Spilanthes oleracea cv. Jambuarana

In the present study, the composition of essential oil of leaves and inflorescences of jambu (Spilanthes oleracea . Jambuarana), under organic manuring and mineral fertilization, was studied. Jambu plants show important chemical properties and their production has been addressed for the extraction of the essential oils for cosmetics industries, due to their pharmacological properties. The experimental area of treatments contained urea as mineral fertilizer (120 g m2), applied twice and organic fertilizer (8 kg m2), applied at the planting. Jambu leaves and flowers were harvested twice: the first at 90 days after seedling transplantation and at the opening of the flower buds. Branches were cut at 7 cm from the soil, thus new branches can bud for the accomplishment of the second crop which happened 40 days after the re-budding. The essential oil was analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass-spectrometry. According to our results the most representative compounds were trans-caryophyllene, germacrene-D, 1-dodecene, spathulenol and spilanthol (a compound presenting anesthetic properties) occurring in inflorescences. Fertilization procedure does not affect the content and the quality of the essential oil in Jambu plants.