Abstract

Tarragon is a herbaceous plant with 0.3 to 1 m height, which belongs to the Asteraceae family. It is cultivated in most parts of Iran as an oral and aromatic vegetable. Estragole and methyleugenol, two of the main components of A. dracunculus essential oil, were shown to be toxic in rodents. Estragole possesses beneficial physiological effects and used as flavorings for food and beverages. Methyl eugenol is a natural constituent of a number of plants such as basil, star anise, fennel, nutmeg, pimento, lemongrass and tarragon .It is used as a food flavoring agent in non-alcoholic beverages, ice cream, chewing gum, jellies and baked goods, and as a fragrance in several cosmetic products. In order to study the effect of foliar application of Ca(NO3)2 and KNO3 on content of estragole and methyleugenol tarragon essential oil, a field experiments was conducted in a factorial experiment based on Complete Randomized Block Design with three replications. Treatments including Ca(NO3)2 and KNO3 fertilizers, each of them in four levels (0, 1.5, 3 and 6 gl-1). Plants harvested in the stage of full flowering, dried in shade. A Clevenger-type apparatus was used for hydrodistillation. The compounds of essential oil were analyzed by combination of GCFID and GC-MS. The results showed that application of calcium nitrate and potassium nitrate and their interaction had a significant effect on estragole and methyl eugenol essential oil of Tarragon [ 1-3]. References