Organic vs conventional farming of oil-bearing rose: Effect on essential oil and antioxidant activity

Abstract

The aim of this study was to establish whether the type of the agricultural system has any influence on the essential oil production and antioxidant activity of industrial cultivated Rosa damascena Mill. in the Rose valley, Bulgaria. Six private farms from Kazanlak (Rose) Valley, Southern Bulgaria were included in the study conducted in the period 2019–2020. The first three selected farms are designated within the conventional farming and the other three are certificated as organic farms. GC/FID and GC/MS analyses were performed; the contents of total polyphenols and flavonoids in the methanol extracts from rose petals were determined. Additionally, the antioxidant activity of rose extracts was evaluated by four reliable methods: 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2´-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) assays. The impact of the agricultural system on the essential oil composition and antioxidant activity was evaluated by ANOVA statistical analysis. The results obtained showed that organic farming produced essential oil with a higher linalool and geraniol content and lower β-citronellol + nerol concentrations than conventional farming. It was found that organic farming production demonstrated a better antioxidant activity evaluated by the three DPPH, ABTS, and CUPRAC methods according to the averaged data for two years, 806.82, 797.66 and 1534.40 mM TE/g dw versus 510.34, 521.94 and 917.48 mM TE/g dw for CF, respectively, with high statistical significance for the DPPH and ABTS analyses. Consequentially, the rose extracts from the organic farming accumulated more phenolic compounds that corresponded to the higher antioxidant potential of the organic roses.

Anticancer Effects in HT-29 Cells and Anti-Inflammatory Effects on Mouse Splenocytes of Broccoli Cultivated with Deep Sea Water Minerals in Organic Farming

“…Recent meta-analyses have shown that organic production methods tend to significantly increase antioxidants, phenols, and Zn compared to conventional farming [37]. Additionally, when roses were cultivated through organic farming, they exhibited superior antioxidant effects compared to those grown conventionally [38]. In this study, organically grown OB and NB also showed higher DPPH scavenging ability than CB, and in particular, the antioxidant properties of NB were superior to those of CB and OB with increasing concentration.…”

Do Abiotic Stresses Affect the Aroma of Damask Roses?

“…The essential oil from organic farming provides higher linalool and geraniol content and lower β-citronellol + nerol concentrations than conventional farming. It has also been found that combining ecofriendly agricultural practices in organic private farms for damask rose cultivation resulted in higher antioxidant activity values in rose phytoconstituents from rose methanolic extracts compared to those from conventional agricultural systems [68].…”

Organic vs. Conventional Farming of Lavender: Effect on Yield, Phytochemicals and Essential Oil Composition

“…Essential oil composition is determined by the plant genotype, but abiotic factors and growing conditions can also affect biomass production and oil quality. For example, the team of Todorova et al (2022) [13] found that the type of agrarian production system has no influence on the chemical composition of the rose oil from the R. Damascena oil-bearing plant, but the highest productivity of essential oil was obtained in combined ecological agricultural practices (low-input farming system)-0.039%, followed by typical conventional farming-0.036% and the lowest productivity was obtained from rose plantations grown through organic farming-0.030%. The study by Ghrysargyris et al (2016) [14] in hydroponic cultivation of L. angustifolia Mill.…”