Essential oil constituents of intact plants and in vitro cultures of Tagetes patula L

The occurrence of volatile compounds in flowers and roots of intact plants and in vitro hairy root cultures of Tagetes patula L. was investigated by GC and GC/MS. The flowers oil was dominated by mono- and sesquiterpenes. The main component was the sesquiterpene hydrocarbon beta-caryophyllene (50.2%). However, the oils of normal roots and hairy root cultures were found to contain sulfur-containing thiophene structures. The following four compounds were identified; 5-(3-buten-1-ynyl)-2,2'-bithiophene (BBT), 5-(3-penten-1-ynyl)-2,2'-bithiophene (PBT), 2,2':5',2"-terthiophene (alpha-terthiophene) and 5-(4-acetoxy-1-butynyl)-2,2'-bithiophene (BBTOAc). The main components were BBT (47.0%) and alpha-terthiophene (19.8%) in the normal root oil and BBT (25.0%), alpha-terthiophene (14.3%) and BBTOAc (13.7%) in hairy root oil, respectively.