Cichoric Acid Content and Biomass Production of Echinacea purpurea. Plants Cultivated in Slovenia

Abstract

Samples of Echinacea purpurea. (L.) Moench were taken from 25 plantations at two harvesting times (July and October). Five shoots from each plantation were measured and weighed. The contents of cichoric and caftaric acid were determined in flowers, leaves, and stems of samples harvested in July. All morphological parameters decreased with increasing age of the plantation, but age had no influence on the cichoric and caftaric acid contents. The average weight of leaves and stems in 6-year-old plantations was more than sixfold lower than those from 1-year-old plantations. In flowers, the reduction was fourfold. Cichoric and caftaric acid contents in leaves differed significantly between the regions, but the region had no influence on the morphological parameters. Irrigated plantations yielded more than 50% higher weights of leaves and stems and 25% higher weights of flowers. Irrigation had no influence on cichoric and caftaric acid contents.

Keywords:

• Biomass production
• caftaric acid
• cichoric acid
• Echinacea purpurea
• purple coneflower