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GENE BANK OF MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANTS IN SLOVENIA

Janko RODE1 and Dea BARIČEVIČ2
1Institute of Hop Research and Brewing, Žalskega tabora 2, SI-3310 Žalec, Slovenia
2Biotechnical Faculty, Department of Agronomy, Jamnikarjeva 101, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

ABSTRACT

Gene banks play an important role in study and preservation of natural appearing and economically valuable plants. Long neglected as a part of agricultural practice and contributors to biodiversity medicinal and aromatic plants (MAP) gain more and more interest. As a part of Slovenian National Program of Plant Genetic Resources collections of MAP are maintained at the Institute of hop research and brewing in Žalec and at the Biotechnical faculty of University Ljubljana. The collection garden of MAP in Žalec was established in 1976. At the moment 293 accessions are kept in the garden and about 280 in seed collection. Research of autochtone MAP and experiments of micropropagation and keeping different species of autochtone and cultivated MAP in vitro are in progress. The MAP collection at Biotechnical faculty was founded in 1994 as an active gene bank. The collection consists of 314 accessions of 42 species of autochtone and cultivated MAP. Techniques of clonal propagation in vitro are investigated. The MEDPLANT relational database was developed to maintain the floristic, taxonomic and analytical data about MAP studied also in situ.


INTRODUCTION

In 1976 a Collection Garden of medicinal and aromatic plants was established at the Institute of Hop Research and Brewing Žalec. It represented a collection of native and introduced plants interesting for cultivation. In that time the idea of introducing the medicinal and aromatic plants previous collected in nature into the field cultivation was new in Europe. In 1980ties eco-physiological investigations of some medicinal and aromatic plants at Agronomy department of Biotechnical faculty were done and resulted in collection of studied genotypes. This represents very beginning of the gene bank activities on Medicinal and aromatic plants in Slovenia. The intensive developmental work on Medicinal and aromatic plants gene bank in Slovenia started in 1993 when seeds of interesting medicinal and aromatic plants from other collections were gathered and introduced. The idea of establishment of the gene bank for medicinal and aromatic plants was also incorporated in directives (Baričevič et al., 1994) and the proposal (Baričevič, Rode 1996) of National program for production, processing and quality control of plant drugs in Republic of Slovenia. When the National program Slovene plant gene bank was officially recognized in 1996, the responsibility for medicinal and aromatic plants gene bank was entrusted to the Garden of medicinal and aromatic plants at Institute of Hop research and Brewing Žalec and Medicinal and aromatic plants collection MEDPLANT at Biotechnical faculty, University Ljubljana (Šuštar - Vozlič et al. 1999). Both collections were approved as "Slovene national collection" of medicinal and aromatic plants.


PRESENT STATUS AND ACTIVITIES

A collection garden of medical and aromatic plants at the Institute of hop research and brewing Žalec is a collection of plants interesting for cultivation, gathered from natural sites and accessions from exchange of seeds. In over 20 years of existence the garden has become a gene bank with almost 300 genetic sources. At the moment 293 accessions are kept in the garden and about 280 of them in seed collection at short term storage at 4°C.

The accessions are of different origin: 21% of Slovene origin, 65% of European origin and 15% of non-European origin (Japan, Argentina, China). Inventarization, monitoring and investigations of species like Arnica montana L., Acorus calamus L. (Rode, Mastnak - Čulk, Wagner 1996), Carum carvi L. and Valeriana officinalis L. are carried out. To facilitate the conservation and have possibility of micropropagation the protocols for in vitro maintanence of Lippia citriodora Kunth. (Rode, Ferant, Čerenak 1998), Artemisia dracunculus L. (Ferant, Rode 1997), Arnica montana L., Carum carvi L (Ferant, Fendre 1998) were devised. Some other plants are tested for in vitro propagation. The garden is a base for research of introduction and acclimatization, cultivation technologies, plant cytology and properties of medical and aromatic plants. The work on reintroduction of Arnica montana L. and Hypericum perforatum L. was experimentally carried out in the vicinity of the ethnological monument Kavčnik homestade near Šoštanj (Kugonič, Rode 1996). In accordance to the proposals of Braunschweig conference (Gass et al., 1999) the status and possibilities of on-farm conservation of some medicinal and aromatic plants is also studied.

Gene bank of medicinal and aromatic plants at Agronomy Department of Biotechnical faculty, University of Ljubljana was founded in 1994 as an active gene bank. The collection consists of 314 accessions of 42 different plant species of autochtone and cultivated medicinal and aromatic plants. 32% of accessions are of Slovene origin, 58% of European origin and 10% from mother parts of the world (USA, India). Accessions are maintained on two locations KŽK Kranj where 156 different accessions are maintained. In Vinjole near Lucija a collection of Cynara sp. cultivars and Trigonella foenum - grecum are maintained. Analysis of active ingredients of Atropa belladona L. (Baričevič et al., 1998), Trigonella foenum-grecum, Salvia officinalis L. (Filipič, Baričevič 1997; Sosa et al., 1999) and Origanum vulgare L. (Baričevič 1997) were done during last years. The cooperation with experts from Pharmaceutical faculty, University Ljubljana, Slovenian academy of sciences and some others enables the evaluation of the gene fond. Techniques of clonal propagation in vitro for Salvia officinalis L. (Bolat, Baričevič 1998), Gentiana lutea L., Origanum vulgare L. and some other plants are investigated (Eržen - Vodenik, Baričevič 1998) to avoid vast diversity of accessions and for studying promising genotypes. The possibility of multiplication with micropropagation to gain homogenous planting material is also studied.

Autochtone flora of different regions of Slovenia is studied. For that purpose our experts joined the collection expedition organized in the frame of bilateral cooperation between Slovene and Chech genebanks. The accessions are described by general Multicrop descriptors proposed by IPGRI. But since there are no descriptors for medicinal and aromatic plants as it is for some vegetable or agricultural plant species or groups, the descriptors were prepared and are in testing. Descriptors consist morphological evaluation data, chemical composition, pharmacology and the data about the propagation methods. The data are recorded into MEDPLANT database (Baričevič et al. 1996) which was developed in accordance to trends in conservational approaches where conservation of gene resources in situ is very important. The database is established for floristic, taxonomic and analytical data for medicinal and aromatic plants of Middle Europe and Mediterranean regions. It enables the search for potentially interesting genotypes for selection and breeding of medicinal and aromatic plants stock material interesting for cultivation of raw material used in pharmaceutical or food industry.


LITERATURE

  1. Baričevič D., Spanring J., Činč M., Umek A., Štupica T., Kus M. and Šuštar F. (1994): Nacionalni program za proizvodnjo, predelavo in kontrolo kakovosti rastlinskih drog v republiki Sloveniji: smernice. = National program for production, processing and quality control of plant drugs in Republic of Slovenia: directives; Ljubljana: Biotehniška fakulteta, Oddelek za agronomijo.

  2. Baričevič D. and Rode J. (1996): Nacionalni program za proizvodnjo, predelavo in kontrolo kakovosti rastlinskih drog v republiki Sloveniji: predlog = National program for production, processing and quality control of plant drugs in Republic of Slovenia: proposal; Ljubljana: Biotehniška fakulteta, Oddelek za agronomijo in Inštitut za hmeljarstvo in pivovarstvo Žalec.

  3. Šuštar-Vozlič J., Baričevič D., Rode J., Zupančič A. and Eržen M. (1999): Genski banki hmelja ter zdravilnih in aromatičnih rastlin = Gene bank of hop and gene bank of medical and aromatic plants. Sodob. kmet., vol 32, no.1, 24.

  4. Rode J., Mastnak-Čulk C. and Wagnet A. (1996): Acorus calamus L. in Slovenia. V: PANK, Friderich. Breeding Research on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: International Symposium, June 30 - July 4, 1996, Quedlinburg, Germany, (Beiträge zur Züchtungs-forschung, 2. Jg., Heft 1, 1996). Quedlinburg, 88-91

  5. Rode J., Ferant N. and Čerenak A. (1998): Citronka (Lippia citrodora Kunth.) zanimiva zdravilna in aromatična rastlina, prenesena v razmere in vitro. Sodob. kmet., 1998, vol. 31, no. 7/8, 383-384

  6. Ferant N., Rode J. and Prebil K. (1998): Razmnoževanje pehtrana in vitro in vzgoja sadik = Propagation of tarragon in vitro and production of plantlets. in Vodnik D. (ed.), Žel J. (ed.): 2. Slovenski simpozij o rastlinski fiziologiji z mednarodno udeležbo, Gozd Martuljek, 30. september - 2. oktober 1998. Knjiga povzetkov -Book of abstracts. Gozd Martuljek: Društvo za rastlinsko fiziologijo, 101.

  7. Ferant N. and Fendre P. (1998): Micropropagation of caraway (Carum carvi L.): Vodnik D. (ed.), Žel J. (ed.). 2. Slovenski simpozij o rastlinski fiziologiji z mednarodno udeležbo, Gozd Martuljek, 30. september - 2. oktober 1998. Knjiga povzetkov -Book of abstracts. Gozd Martuljek: Društvo za rastlinsko fiziologijo, 103.

  8. Kugonič N. and Rode J. (1996): Vrt zdravilnih zelišč na Kavčnikovi domačiji. V: Stropnik Ivo (ur.). Razprave, presoje, akcenti : zbornik 1995-1996, (Zbirka Šaleški razgledi, zv. 12). Velenje: Kulturni center Ivana Napotnika, Založništvo Pozoj, 147-172.

  9. Gass T., Frese L., Begeman F. and Lipman E. (1999): Implementation of Global Plan of Action in Europe - Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Proceedings of the European Symposium, 30 June - 3 July, Braunschweig, Germany. S. 60.

  10. Baričevič D., Umek A., Kreft S., Matičič B. and Zupančič A. (1998): Effect of water stress and nitrogen fertilization on the content of hyoscyamine and scopolamine in the roots of deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna). Environ. exp. bot., 42, 17-24.

  11. Filipič M. and Baričevič D. (1997): Antimutagenic activity of Salvia officinalis extracts against UV induced mutations in E. coli strains. Mutat. res., 1997, suppl. 1, vol. 379, no. 1, 182.

  12. Sosa S., Baričevič D., Turbaro A. and Della Loggia R. (1999): The relevance of ursolic acid in the topical anti-inflammatory activity of Salvia officinalis L. leaves. V: 2000 Years of Natural Products Research: Past, Present and Future, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, July 26-30, 1999: Book of Abstracts. 68.

  13. Simonovska B., Krašna A. and Baričevič D. (1998): HPTLC determination of carnosol and ursolic acid in the extracts of Salviae off. V: 22nd International Symposium on Chromatography, ISC'98, Roma, September 13-18, 1998. Book of abstracts. 635.

  14. Baričevič D. (1997): Experiences with oregano (Origanum spp.) in Slovenia. V: Padulosi S. (ed.). Oregano: proceedings of the IPGRI International Workshop on Oregano 8-12 may 1996, CIHEAM, Valenzano (Bari), Italy, (Promoting the conservation and use of underutilized and neglected crops, 14). Rome: International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, 111-121.

  15. Eržen-Vodenik M. and Baričevič D. (1996): Tkivno razmnoževanje pri zdravilnih in aromatičnih rastlinah = Tissue propagation by medicinal and aromatic plants. V: ŠESEK P. (ed.). Novi izzivi v poljedelstvu '96: zbornik simpozija, [Radenci, 9. in 10. decembra 1996]: proceedings of symposium. Ljubljana: Biotehniška fakulteta, Oddelek za agronomijo 201-206.

  16. Bolta Ž. and Baričevič D. (1998): Tkivno razmnoževanje pri žajblju (Salvia officinalis L.) = Micropropagation on sage (Salvia officinalis L.). in Vodnik D. (ed.), Žel J. (ed.): 2. Slovenski simpozij o rastlinski fiziologiji z mednarodno udeležbo, Gozd Martuljek, 30. september - 2. oktober 1998. Knjiga povzetkov -Book of abstracts. Gozd Martuljek: Društvo za rastlinsko fiziologijo, 104.

  17. Eržen-Vodenik M. and Baričevič D. (1998): Izkušnje s tkivnim razmnoževanjem pri nekaterih zdravilnih in aromatičnih rastlinah = Micropropagation experience in some of medicinal and aromatic plants. in: Vodnik D. (ed.), Žel J. (ed.): 2. Slovenski simpozij o rastlinski fiziologiji z mednarodno udeležbo, Gozd Martuljek, 30. september - 2. oktober 1998. Knjiga povzetkov -Book of abstracts. Gozd Martuljek: Društvo za rastlinsko fiziologijo, 105.

  18. Baričevič D., Černila M., Bartol T., Zupančič A. and Rode J. (1996): Managing information data on medicinal and aromatic plants by medplant relational database. in: Genebank documentation, the users perspective : Abstracts. Budapest: EUCARPIA, 1996.

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