Journal of Applied Botany and Food Quality 93, 26 - 33 (2020), DOI:10.5073/JABFQ.2020.093.004

1Department of Agriculture, Payame Noor University (PNU), Tehran, Iran
2Department of Horticultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

3Department of Chemistry, Payame Noor University (PNU), Tehran, Iran

Biological and pharmacological activities of essential oils of Ocimum basilicum L. 
grown with Zn-salicylic acid nano-complex

Vahid Tavallali1*, Hossein Gholami2, Omid Espargham3

(Submitted: July 19, 2019; Accepted: November 1, 2019)

* Corresponding author

Summary
A greenhouse study was conducted to investigate the impact of 
different rates of application of Zn-EDTA, salicylic acid (SA) and 
zinc-salicylic acid nano-complex (n[Zn(SA)2]) on the antioxidant and 
antimicrobial activities of essential oil (EO) of sweet basil (Ocimum 
basilicum L.). Sixty-one compounds were detected in the EOs after 
Zn and SA sources were applied to the plants. GC-MS analysis 
showed that the main components of the EOs after the treatment were 
epi-α-Cadinol and trans-α-Bergamotene. The highest amount of epi-
α-Cadinol (29.06±1.31%) and trans-α-Bergamotene (11.90±1.1%) in 
the EO were observed at 0.2% n[Zn(SA)2] treatment. In general, the 
application of 0.2% n[Zn(SA)2] significantly increased percentages 
of phenolic and flavonoid compounds of extract. HPLC analysis 
showed that the predominant phenolic compound after treatments 
with different Zn and SA sources were rosmarinic acid and quercetin, 
respectively. The lowest IC50 values for RNS, ROS, TBARS and 
H2O2, scavenging activities were obtained in EOs of basils which 
were treated with 0.2% n[Zn(SA)2]. Zinc-salicylic nano-complex was 
the most effective treatment to inhibit fungal and bacterial growth. 
Our results are quite encouraging since the Eos of n[Zn(SA)2] treated 
basil exhibited potent antioxidant effect, antimicrobial activities 
comparable with synthetic drugs.

Keywords: Antimicrobial activity, Flavonoids, Nanoparticle, Sali- 
cylic acid, Sweet basil, Zinc. 

Introduction
The use of nanotechnology in all fields, including agriculture is ex- 
panding. One of the most important applications of this technology 
in agriculture is the use of nanofertilizers for plant nutrition (Zhu  
et al., 2008). Nanofertilizers have recently attracted much attention 
due to their increased absorption by the plant, which is due to its small 
size and high penetration through cell membranes (Panwar et al., 
2012). Nanoparticles are highly reactivity due to special and higher 
surfaces, higher density and many reactive regions on the particle 
surfaces. These characteristics make nanofertilizers and pesticides 
in nano-scale easy to absorb (Chinnamuthu and BooPathi, 2009).
Nanoparticles can bind to specific sites within biomolecules including 
proteins, nucleic acids and subcellular structures. In this way, they 
can pass through the cell membrane (Krystofova et al., 2013). 
Nanotechnology is gradually moving from the experimental stage to 
the operational stage, which has led to a more visible presence of this 
technology in the agricultural sector (Baruah and Dutta, 2009).
In this study, we focus on Ocimum basilicum, which is highly diverse 
in its morphological characteristics and secondary compounds, 
especially essential oil (telCi et al., 2006). Basil has been used as 
herbal medicine to treat headaches, coughs, diarrhea, parasites, warts 

and kidney diseases (laBra et al., 2004). Terpenoids constitute a 
significant proportion of basil essential oil which their type and 
amount is different in chemotypes, different climatic conditions and 
stages of plant development (sajjaDi, 2006). Synthesis of essential oils 
in plants changes affected by factors such as nutrition, light intensity, 
photosynthesis, photoperiodic changes, climatic conditions, seasonal 
variation, plant growth regulators, and environmental stresses such 
as drought, salinity and temperature (werKer et al., 1993).
Salicylic acid or 2-hydroxybenzoic acid is a phenolic compound in 
plants that affect growth, respiration, photosynthesis, absorption and 
ion transport, and create some changes in leaf morphology and chlo-
rophyll structure (PoPova et al., 2003). The application of salicylic 
acid can affect a range of different processes in plants such as ger- 
mination of seeds (Wang et al., 2006), resistance to pathogens (Cag 
et al., 2009), flowering (KoDa et al., 1992), exchange and transmis-
sion of ions (Cag et al., 2009), guard cells function and transpiration 
regulation (metwally et al., 2003), membrane permeability, photo-
synthesis and growth rate (Khan et al., 2003).
Zinc is one of the micronutrient elements in the plant that is involved 
in various plant processes. Deficiency of zinc prevents the growth 
of plants (gurmani et al., 2012). Although a plant’s need for zinc is 
small, zinc deficiency results in severe physiological tensions such 
as inefficiency of many enzymatic systems and other metabolic ac-
tions (saDeghZaDeh and rengel, 2006). Zinc plays a role in carbo-
hydrate and protein metabolism and is indirectly controlling water-
plant relationships. There also is a close relationship between zinc 
and the amount of auxin in plants. A lack of auxin due to zinc defi-
ciency causes reduced cell wall growth due to high osmotic pressure 
and limited water absorption by the plant (marsChner, 2012).
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of various zinc 
and salicylic acid sources on growth characteristics, essential oil 
yield, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of sweet basil.

Materials and methods
Soil analysis
Physico-chemical characteristics of the soil were: texture- sandy 
loam, pH 7.1, ECe 1.3 dS m-1, CEC 11 Cmc kg-1, organic matter  
8.8 g kg-1, N 0.08%, available K, P, Zn and Fe 61, 12, 1.5 and 1.01 mg 
kg-1, respectively. 5 mg kg-1 Zn, Mn and Cu as ZnSO4.7H2O, MnSO4.
H2O and CuSO4.5H2O were applied, respectively. Also, 50 mg kg-1 N 
and P as NH4NO3 and KH2PO4 were applied to the soil, respectively.

Plant material
The seeds of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) were provided from 
an herbal garden of Bazrco Company in Tehran, Iran. A 2 × 2 × 2 fac-
torial experiment, arranged in a randomized complete design (RCD) 
with eight replications, was conducted in a greenhouse located at the 
29º 31́  N; 52º 31́  E in Shiraz, Iran (approximately 800-1000 μmol 
m-2 s-1 PAR-photosynthetically active radiation, with a 12 h photo-



 Essential oils of Ocimum basilicum L. grown with Zn-salicylic acid nano-complex 27

period and temperature between 22-25 °C.). The experimental units 
were 7 L plastic pots. Treatments were Zn-EDTA (0.1 and 0.2%), sali- 
cylic acid (0.1 and 0.2%), n[Zn(SA)2] nano-complex (0.1 and 0.2%) 
and control (deionized water). Salicylic acid and zinc sources were 
added in two steps. The first one after thinning and the second step 
was applied previous the flowering inception of plants. Basils were 
collected at full bloom stage.

Nanoparticles used
Zn-salicylic acid nanoparticles (n[Zn(SA)2]) were purchased from 
“Zist Nano Fanavaran Atiye Pajooh” company in Fars Science and 
Technology Park, Iran. The size of n[Zn(SA)2] nanoparticles were de-
termined by the transmission electron micrographs (TEM) (100 kV 
Philips, EM208) (Fig. 1).

time of 30 min the ratio was set on (70:30) which was held isocratic 
till 40 min. Photodiode array detector was set on 280 and 320 nm 
and Chemstation Software was used for data analysis. The standard 
solutions were all dissolved in methanol. The calibration curves with 
standard phenolic acids and flavonoids were obtained with good cor-
relation. Concentrations of phenolic acids and flavonoids are calcu-
lated as as milligrams per gram of dry matter (mg g-1 DM).

Essential oil analysis
The experiment was carried out using Agilent gas chromatograph 
series 7890-A with an FID (flame ionization detector) on fused silica 
capillary HP-5 column (30 m × 0.32 mm i.d.; film thickness 0.25 μm) 
for quantitation analysis. The injector and detector temperatures were 
kept at 250 °C and 280 °C, respectively. Nitrogen was used as the car-
rier gas at a flow rate of 1 mL/min; the oven temperature program  
was 60-210 °C at the rate of 4 °C/min and then programmed to  
240 °C at the rate of 20 °C/min and finally held isothermally for  
8.5 min; the split ratio was 1:50. GC-MS analysis was carried out for 
quantification analysis by use of Agilent gas chromatograph equipped 
with fused silica capillary HP-5MS column (30 m × 0.25 mm i.d.; 
film thickness 0.25 μm) coupled with an Agilent mass spectrometer 
series 5975-C. Helium was used as carrier gas. The quadrupole mass 
spectrometer was scanned over 50-550 amu with an ionizing voltage 
of 70 eV.  Ion source and interface temperatures were 230 °C and 
280 °C, respectively. Mass range was from 45 to 550 amu. The oven 
temperature program was the same as the GC. The injection volume 
was 0.1 μl in two mothods. Retention indices of EO were determined 
based on retention times of alkanes (C8-C25) under the same chro-
matographic conditions. Eventually, identification of chemical com-
ponents of EO was done by correspondence of their retention profiles 
with those reported in previous studies (aDams, 2007).

Antimicrobial activity of essential oil
Bacteria and fungi were obtained from the Persian Type Culture 
Collection (PTCC), Tehran, Iran. Those were Escherichia coli PTCC 
1330 (ATCC 8739) and Salmonella typhimurium PTCC 1609 (Iran 
isolate) as Gram-negative bacteria and Staphylococcus aureus PTCC 
1112 (ATCC 6538) and Bacillus subtilis PTCC 1023 (ATCC 6633) 
as Gram-positive bacteria. Also, the fungi used were fungi Candida 
albicans PTCC 5027 (ATCC 10231) and Aspergillus niger PTCC 
5010 (ATCC 9142). The MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) 
values of the EO were characterized by means of the microdilution 
method in accordance with the Clinical and Laboratory Standards 
Institute procedures (CLSI, 2012). Suspended bacteria and fungi 
strains in Luria-Bertani (LB) media were tuned to 0.6 McFarland 
standards at 640 nm (108 CFU/ml). Then, densities were diluted to 
105 (CFU/ml) with Luria-Bertani. The test mixture (600 μL) con-
tained 300 μL of suspensions of bacteria and fungi and 300 μL EO. 
In the next step, the samples were shaken in incubator (for 24 h at 
36 °C). Positive control included in Ketoconazole, Ampicillin and 
Gentamicin for fungi, Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, 
respectively. A medium without fungi and bacteria and a medium 
without essential oils but with bacteria as sterile and growth control 
were considered, respectively. MIC values were used for measuring 
the antibacterial and antifungal activities by using the formula MIC 
value = [(A640blank - A640sample/A640blank] × 100.

Antioxidant activity of the essential oil
Antioxidant activities of the EO were evaluated based on IC50, ap-
plying NaNO2, MDA, DPPH and H2O2 scavenging effects, shown 
for RNS, TBARS, ROS and H2O2 scavenging activities, respectively 
(Kavoosi and rowshan, 2013; Burits et al., 2001). In ROS assay, 

Essential oil isolation
The aerial parts were air-dried and then hydrodistilled for 3 h using 
a Clevenger type device, according to the method recommended by 
the British PharmaCoPoeia (1998). Eventually, the samples were 
then dried over anhydrous Na2SO4 and kept in sealed vials at low 
temperature until further analysis.

High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis
Agilent HPLC 1200 series was applied to obtain phenolic acids (gal-
lic acid, cinnamic acid, carvacrol, rosmarinic acid and ferulic acid 
were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich company for HPLC analysis 
and flavonoids (quercetin, kaempferol, catechin, luteolin and rutin 
were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich company for HPLC analysis) 
with the following method; 20 microliter of the dissolved extract was 
injected to Zorbax eclipse (XDB) C18, 4.6 × 5 μm (ID) × 150 mm 
column while column temperature was set on 30 °C. The gradient 
programming was applied to separate the constituents during 40 min. 
The mobile phase was a mixture of methanol: formic acid 1% with 
the flow rate of 1ml min-1, started from (10:90); then it programmed 
to (25:75) at the time of 10min; changing to (60:40) at 20 min; at the 

Fig. 1:  The TEM image of Zn-salicylic acid nano-complexes.



28 V. Tavallali, H. Gholami, O. Espargham

the reaction mixture (260 μL) contained 30 μL EO (0-0.5 mg mL-1 
in DMSO) and 230 μL DPPH (120 mmol L-1 in methanol). In order 
to measure of RNS scavenging effect, to 100 μL of the EO (0-0.5 mg  
mL-1 in DMSO), 250 μL of sodium nitrite (0.02 mg mL-1 in 100 mM  
sodium citrate) was added. Then, the reaction mixture was kept for 
120 min at 36 °C. Eventually, to this mixture, 600 μL of Griess re-
agent was added. The reaction mixture of 50 μL of the EO (0-0.5 mg  
mL-1 in DMSO) and 50 μL of the MDA (0.1 mM in acetic acid pH=4) 
was used in order to measure of TBARS scavenging effect. The, the 
solutions were kept at a 36 °C for 120 min. After adding one volume 
of thiobarbituric acid (0.3 mM in acetic acid pH=4), the solutions 
were incubated at 90 °C for 60 minutes. In H2O2 assay, the reaction 
mixture (100 μL) contained 50 μL of the EO (0-0.5 mg mL-1 in 
DMSO) and 50 μL of the H2O2 (100 mM in 200 mM phosphate buf-
fer, pH=7.4). The solutions were incubated at 36 °C for 75 minutes. 
Eventually, samples’ absorptions were read with EL × 808 absorbance 
microplate reader (BioTek Instruments, Inc., USA) at wavelengths of 
540, 532, 515 and 230 nm for NaNO2, MDA, DPPH and H2O2 tests, 
respectively. The percentage of RNS, TBARS, H2O2 and ROS sca- 
venging were then calculated by using the following formulas:

RNS scavenging effect (%) = [(A540blank - A540sample)/A540blank] ×100

TBARS scavenging effect (%) = [(A532blank - A532sample)/A532blank] ×100

H2O2 scavenging effect (%) = [(A230blank - A230sample)/A230blank] ×100

ROS scavenging effect (%) = [(A515sample - A515blank)/A515control] ×100

Statistical analysis
Data are presented as mean values ±standard deviation of eight repli-
cations. Data were statistically analyzed using one-way ANOVA and 
Duncan’s multiple range test (P<0.05) with SPSS (20.0).

Results and discussion
Growth characteristics and EO yield
Fig. 2a shows that the Zn-salicylic acid nano-complex application 
significantly stimulated most of the essential oil production. The 
highest EO yields were achieved at 0.2% n[Zn(SA)2] addition and 
lowest in the untreated control.
Carbon dioxide and glucose are precursors of biosynthesis for 
monoterpenes. Saccharides are the energy source for the synthesis 
of terpenoids, which due to the role of zinc in the activity of the 
chloroplasts, photosynthesis, stomatal conductance and saccharides 
metabolism, the importance of this element in the production and ac-
cumulation of essential oil in plants can be significant. Also, increas-
ing leaf area due to zinc application, and consequently increasing 
photosynthesis, CO2 stabilization and higher carbohydrate produc-
tion, is another reason for the increase of secretory glands of essen-
tial oil (DeraKhshani et al., 2011b). ZehtaB-salmasi et al., 2008, 
reported that vegetative growth and essential oil yield of peppermint 
with application of 250 mg L-1 zinc sulfate were significantly higher 
than control treatment. Also, research by grejtovsKý et al., 2006 
showed that the application of 50 mg L-1 of zinc, increases the growth 
and essential oil yield in chamomile. Increasing the essential oil yield 
after zinc application has also been reported for basil (saiD-al ahl 
and mahmouD, 2010).
The positive role of spraying salicylic acid in increasing the essential 
oil yield may be due to increased vegetative growth, nutrient absorp-
tion, photosynthetic activity and also the change in the number of  
secretory glands of essential oil in leaves and flowers. These results 
are consistent with the findings of another study (ghariB, 2007) on 
the positive role of salicylic acid in increasing the weight percent of 
essential oil of basil. One reason for increasing the secretory glands 

of essential oil may be the role of salicylic acid in enhancing the 
rubisco activity, photosynthesis, chlorophyll content and thereby in-
creasing the performance of dry matter (singh and usha, 2003).
The positive effect of Zn-salicylic acid nano-complexes spraying 
on growth and essential oil yield can be attributed to the specific 
properties such as specific surface area, surface energy and increased 
surface activity compared to conventional particles (Panwar et al., 
2012).
Results indicated that the application of zinc and salicylic acid sour- 
ces have a significant effect on the growth parameters of sweet ba-
sil (P ≤ 0.05). The highest plant height and plant weight were found 
in sweet basil treated with 0.2% and 0.1% n[Zn(SA)2], respectively  
(Fig. 2b and c). 
In this investigation, the use of salicylic acid and zinc in the form of 
nano-complex had a higher efficiency on growth characteristics than 
their non-nano forms. Probably, the use of Zn-salicylic acid nano-
complexes due to small size and their high penetration into cell mem-
branes can justify their positive role (Panwar et al., 2012).

  

 

 

 

 

 

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Fig. 2:  Essential oil yield (a), plant height (b) and plant weight (c) of sweet 
basil under different zinc and salicylic acid sources. Values are 
means ± SE (n = 8). Bars having different letters are significantly 
different at the 5% level by Duncan’s multiple range test.



 Essential oils of Ocimum basilicum L. grown with Zn-salicylic acid nano-complex 29

Chemical components of EO
The quantitative and qualitative compositions of the EOs of the sweet 
basil plants that were supplied with zinc and salicylic acid sources are 
presented in Tab. 1. Thirty-eight compounds were identified in the 
essential oil of basil at control treatment. Epi-α-Cadinol, Eugenol, 
Linalool, and trans-α-Bergamotene were the major components 
in the EO with the value of 24.67, 12.7, 10.85 and 8.36%, respec-
tively. Sixty-one compounds were detected in the EOs after Zn and 
SA sources were applied to the plants. GC-MS analysis showed that 
the main components of the EOs after treatment of different Zn and 
SA fertilizer sources were epi-α-Cadinol and trans-α-Bergamotene. 
The highest amount of epi-α-Cadinol (29.06±1.31%) and trans-α-
Bergamotene (11.90±1.1%) were observed in the essential oil of 0.2% 
n[Zn(SA)2] treated plants and the lowest (24.67±1.7 and 8.36±0.86%, 
respectively) in control plants.
The effect of salicylic acid on the variation of chemical composition 
of essential oils in savory has been reported by haiati and rowshan 
(2013). hassanPouraghDam et al. (2011) reported that foliar ap-
plication of Zn influences the primary metabolic pathways, which 
ultimately causes the synthesis of essential oil compounds in basil 
leaves. In a study on basil, foliar application of zinc chelate improved 
growth characteristics and essential oil yield, as well as increasing 
the percentage of linalool and methyl chavicol as the dominant com-
ponents of essential oil (saiD-al ahl and mahmouD, 2010).
srivastava et al. (2006) observed a significant positive correlation 
between carbon assimilation pathways and the accumulation of se-
condary metabolites in turmeric. They consider several internal and 
external factors to be effective in the production of secondary me-
tabolites, which have identified the most important factor in the sup-
ply of micronutrients such as Zn; since the Zn has been very effective 
on the biosynthesis of sesquiterpenes. Increased Zn levels have been 
associated with increased percentage of propyl 1-propenyl disulfide 
and reduced percentage of dimethylthiophene in onion (el-tohamy 
et al., 2009). ChanD et al., 2007 reported that Zn spraying has sig-
nificantly increased the percentage of essential oil of geranium, and 
also changes the main components of the essential oil such as rose 
oxide, linalool, and isomenthone. Also, the positive effect of Zn on 
the increase of essential oil yield and methyl chavicol as the domi- 
nant component of anise essential oil has been reported (PirZaD  
et al., 2013). Changes in the compounds of the essential oil by Zn 
spraying are related to the effect of this element on divalent cations, 
enzyme activity and also carbon metabolism. Some enzymes that 
have metal ions in their building play an important role in the biosyn-
thesis of monoterpene compounds (PrasaD et al., 2008). tavallali 
et al. (2018) reported changes in the essential oil components of sweet 
basil after the use of green synthesized zinc-amino nano-complexes. 
Methyl chavicol was identified as the dominant component of the 
essential oil.

Phenolic acids and flavonoids profiles
Identification of phenolic and flavonoid compounds of extract ac-
cording to their spectral properties was performed out by HPLC. 
Calibration curves were prepared by analysis of calibration solu-
tions of investigated compounds in the concentration range from 1 to  
500 mg L-1. In this study, carvacrol, rutin, ferulic acid and luteolin 
were not identified in control treatment. The results showed that the 
application of Zn and SA sources increased the number of phenolic 
and flavonoid compounds detected in the extract. A total of 10 phe-
nolic compounds, including five phenolic acids and five flavonoids, 
were identified from the extract of treated plants with Zn and SA 
sources (Tab. 2). In general, the application of 0.2% n[Zn(SA)2] fer-
tilizer significantly increased percentages of phenolic and flavonoid 
compounds of extract. HPLC analysis showed that the predominant 
phenolic compound of the extract after treatment of different Zn and 

SA fertilizer sources were rosmarinic acid and quercetin, respec-
tively.
In a study by DeraKhshani et al. (2011a), the application of zinc 
sulfate increased the phenolic compounds in costmary. An increase 
in the amount of phenolic compounds may be due to the role of zinc 
in the expression of genes associated with the biosynthesis of pheno-
lic and flavonoid compounds (KaraBourniotis and liaKoPoulos, 
2005). song et al. (2015) have shown that zinc inhibits the reduction 
of VvPAL gene expression, thereby increasing the content of pheno-
lic compounds. Additionally, zinc with the direct effect on the activa-
tion of key enzymes in the biosynthetic pathways of flavonoids, such 
as chalcone synthase (CHS) and chalcone isomerase (CHI) increase 
the production of these compounds in the plants. It also increases the 
expression of VvCHS, VvMYBF1 and VvFLS4 genes, and stimu-
lates the production of flavonoid compounds in the plant (song et al.,  
2015).
Our results showed that the use of Zn-salicylic acid nano-complexes 
has a greater effect than their non-nano form. Increasing the transfer 
velocity, absorption efficiency, and specific surface of   nanoparticles 
compared with conventional particles, can justify the greater effect of 
these particles (moniCa and Cremonini, 2009). Possibly, the entry 
of nanoparticles in plant cells is done through stomatal opening and 
natural nanopores which may enhance plant cell metabolic activi- 
ties that lead to higher phenolic compounds production (tarafDar 
et al., 2014).

Antioxidant activity
The EO from sweet basil aerial parts was investigated for radical 
scavenging activity using four different assay methods (RNS, ROS, 
TBARS and H2O2, scavenging activities). The antioxidant activity of 
samples as milligrams ascorbic acid equivalents per gram of essen-
tial oil (mg AAE g-1) was calculated and reported in Tab. 3. The high-
est antioxidant activity (22.94±1.7 mg AAE g-1) was found in 0.2% 
n[Zn(SA)2] nano-complex treatment followed by 0.1% n[Zn(SA)2] 
nano-complex treatment, which increased the antioxidant activity to 
21.44±1.5 mg AAE g-1. The lowest amount (8.82±1.2 mg AAE g-1) 
was obtained in untreated plants. On 0.2% n[Zn(SA)2] nano-complex 
treatment, all four different assay methods showed better antioxidant 
activity than other treatments. Therefore, the lowest IC50 values for 
RNS, ROS, TBARS and H2O2, scavenging activities were obtained 
in EO of basil plants, which were treated with 0.2% [Zn(SA)2] nano-
complex.
The comparison of the treatments used in this experiment showed 
that the use of zinc and salicylic acid in the form of nano has a higher 
effect than their non-nano form. Probably, some of the properties of 
nanoparticles, such as higher transfer velocities, solubility and greater 
stability, can justify this high effect (moniCa and Cremonini, 2009).

Antimicrobial activity
In the study, the antimicrobial activities of EO from the aerial parts 
of  sweet basil were tested against Gram-negative (Salmonella ty-
phimurium and Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus 
aureus and Bacillus subtilis) bacteria and fungi (Candida albicans 
and Aspergillus niger) growth by Minimal Inhibitory Concentration 
(MIC) method. The results showed that the application of zinc and 
salicylic acid sources significantly increased the antifungal and 
antibacterial activity of EO from sweet basil compared to the con-
trol treatment (Tab. 4). The lowest MIC for Salmonella typhimu- 
rium, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, 
Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger growth were 0.180±0.011, 
0.229 ± 0.018, 0.007 ± 0.0005, 0.031 ± 0.003, 0.050 ± 0.005 and 
0.068±0.045 mg mL-1 of EO derived from treated basils with 0.2% 
n[Zn(SA)2] nano-complex, respectively.



30 V. Tavallali, H. Gholami, O. Espargham34 V. Tavallali, H. Gholami, O. Espargham

Tab. 1:  Phytochemical profile (%) identified in essential oil of sweet basil supplied with diverse zinc and salicylic acid sources.

 Control Salicylic  Salicylic Zn-EDTA Zn-EDTA n[Zn(SA)2] n[Zn(SA)2] Retention Compound No.
  acid 0.2% acid 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% Index 

 ----------- 0.422±0.05a 0.377±0.03b 0.238±0.02cd 0.212±0.01d  0.251±0.02c 0.258±0.07c 932 α-Pinene 1
 ----------- 0.631±0.07a 0.580±0.06b 0.583±0.06b 0.571±0.05b 0.602±0.04b 0.576±0.03b 972 Sabinene 2
 ------------ 1.167±0.27a 1.084±0.23a 0.271±0.03b 0.224±0.02c 0.208±0.01c 0.286±0.04b 976 β-Pinene 3
 ------------ 3.224±0.59a 3.110±0.52a 0.416±0.03d 0.508±0.04b 0.510±0.03b 0.469±0.02c 990 Myrcene 4
 3.357±0.43a 0.966±0.07b 0.884±0.07c 0.611±0.05d 3.587±0.45a 0.425±0.03e 0.606±0.04d 999 n-Decane 5
 ------------ 0.127±0.02b 0.158±0.03a 0.121±0.03bc 0.091±0.006d 0.132±0.01ab 0.105±0.02cd 1005 α-Phellandrene 6
 ------------ 0.167±0.01a 0.092±0.007cd 0.102±0.01bc 0.069±0.005e 0.115±0.02b 0.081±0.007de 1016 α-Terpinene 7
 ------------ 0.029±0.004d 0.015±0.002e 0.082±0.005b 0.058±0.006c 0.093±0.007a 0.048±0.003c 1024 p-Cymene 8
 0.289±0.02b 0.796±0.07a 0.754±0.06a 0.142±0.02cd 0.127±0.02d 0.150±0.01c 0.134±0.01d 1028 Limonene 9
 3.463±0.66a 1.121±0.31b 1.074±0.20b 0.602±0.05c 3.523±0.50a 0.614±0.05c 1.088±0.11b 1030 1,8-Cineole 10
 0.397±0.04a 0.125±0.01c 0.101±0.01d 0.145±0.03bc 0.126±0.02c 0.153±0.01b 0.137±0.02bc 1036 (Z)-β-Ocimene 11
 ----------- 0.039±0.004d 0.018±0.002e 0.085±0.006ab 0.062±0.004c 0.094±0.006a 0.075±0.003b 1041 Benzene acetaldehyde 12
 ------------ 0.602±0.07a 0.581±0.05ab 0.561±0.04ab 0.549±0.05b 0.567±0.04ab 0.566±0.03ab 1046 (E)-β-Ocimene 13
 ------------ 0.126±0.02b 0.118±0.02b 0.142±0.02a 0.128±0.01b 0.123±0.01b 0.139±0.01a 1057 γ-Terpinene 14
 ----------- 0.163±0.03a 0.150±0.02ab 0.145±0.03b 0.137±0.02b 0.120±0.01c 0.151±0. 01ab 1066 cis-Sabinene hydrate 15
 ----------- 0.371±0.04a 0.324±0.03bc 0.319±0.04bc 0.281±0.03d 0.332±0.02b 0.309±0.02c 1088 Terpinolene 16
 10.850±1.89a 5.733±0.51b 5.696±0.45b 0.593±0.05c 0.584±0.06c 0.516±0.04d 0.590±0.04c 1099 Linalool 17
 ------------ 0.136±0.02a 0.129±0.02a 0.072±0.007b 0.061±0.004c 0.079±0.005b 0.062±0.004c 1112 1-Octen-3-yl acetate 18
 ------------ 0.089±0.009d 0.058±0.006e 0.119±0.01ab 0.102±0.03c 0.128±0.01a 0.114±0.01b 1144 Camphor 19
 ------------ 0.220±0.02a 0.190±0.03b 0.161±0.02c 0.132±0.02d 0.198±0.02b 0.170±0.02c 1166 δ-Terpineol 20
 ------------ 0.097±0.007a 0.077±0.005b 0.076±0.006b 0.066±0.006c 0.097±0.007a 0.090±0.002a 1177 Terpinen-4-ol 21
 0.483±0.05f 1.360±0.18b 2.110±0.26a 0.703±0.05d 0.682±0.05de 0.664±0.04e 0.761±0.04c 1190 α-Terpineol 22
 0.783±0.07a 0.203±0.04e 0.177±0.03e 0.690±0.06b 0.512±0.04c 0.414±0.03d 0.565±0.03c 1199 n-Dodecane 23
 0.965±0.07a 0.821±0.08b 0.798±0.07b 0.589±0.06c 0.346±0.04d 0.604±0.05c 0.605±0.04c 1212 Octanol acetate 24
 0.248±0.01a 0.098±0.009c 0.088±0.007c 0.195±0.01b 0.101±0.009c 0.199±0.02b 0.250±0.02a 1222 Trans-Carveol 25
 ------------ 0.129±0.02b 0.108±0.02b 0.791±0.06a 0.753±0.06a 0.043±0.003c 0.036±0.003c 1256 Linalyl acetate 26
 6.657±1.03a 1.843±0.28d 2.644±0.36b 1.692±0.23 2.395±0.18c 1.005±0.08f 1.332±0.12e 1286 Bornyl acetate 27
 0.146±0.01f 0.219±0.03e 0.184±0.03e 0.562±0.05a 0.365±0.03d 0.497±0.03b 0.444±0.03c 1337 δ-Elemene 28
 0.095±0.007c 0.224±0.03a 0.199±0.04a 0.154±0.02b 0.135±0.02b 0.135±0.01b 0.146±0.01b 1349 α-Terpinyl acetate 29
 12.704±1.77a 1.140±0.21e 2.288±0.27b 1.711±0.12c 1.389±0.09d 0.403±0.03g 0.741±0.05f 1358 Eugenol 30
 0.056±0.006d 0.121±0.01b 0.091±0.008c 0.314±0.04a 0.291±0.04a 0.292±0.02a 0.297±0.02a 1375 α-Copaene 31
 0.084±0.009d 0.130±0.01c 0.060±0.007e 0.214±0.02a 0.130±0.02c 0.222±0.02a 0.168±0.01b 1390 β-Cubebene 32
 4.894±0.42d 6.117±0.49c 6.083±0.41c 7.520±0.30b 7.245±0.25b 7.970±0.18a 7.877±0.21a 1392 β-Elemene 33
 ------------ 0.092±0.009d 0.078±0.008d 0.339±0.04a 0.253±0.03c 0.256±0.01c 0.288±0.02b 1400 n-Tetradeane 34
 0.330±0.02cd 0.715±0.05a 0.702±0.06a 0.392±0.04b 0.345±0.03c 0.309±0.02d 0.341±0.02c 1405 Methyl eugenol 35
 ------------ 0.072±0.007a 0.051±0.006b 0.072±0.005a 0.051±0.004b 0.076±0.005a 0.053±0.006b 1415 Cis-α-Bergamotene 36
 0.196±0.02e 0.338±0.04d 0.308±0.05d 0.597±0.04a 0.469±0.03c 0.563±0.04b 0.587±0.04ab 1418 (E)-Caryophyllene 37
 ------------ 0.051±0.005d 0.036±0.004e 0.077±0.005a 0.039±0.003e 0.070±0.004b 0.059±0.005c 1428 β-Gurjunene 38
 8.369±0.86d 9.222±0.92c 9.093±0.87c 11.150±1.08b 10.920±1.06b 11.903±1.10a 11.838±1.02a 1436 trans-α-Bergamotene 39
 0.514±0.06d 0.606±0.07c 0.565±0.05c 1.148±0.11a 0.943±0.07b 1.108±0.09a 0.938±0.06b 1438 α-Guaiene 40
 0.063±0.006e 0.233±0.03a 0.186±0.02c 0.207±0.01abc 0.132±0.01d 0.219±0.02ab 0.196±0.01bc 1443 (Z)-β-Farnesene 41
 1.323±0.12e 2.157±0.15d 1.968±0.17d 2.814±0.19b 2.752±0.18c 2.897±0.18a 2.912±0.17a 1453 α-Humulene 42
 0.247±0.01e 0.448±0.05c 0.403±0.04d 0.459±0.05bc 0.392±0.04 0.560±0.04a 0.488±0.03b 1457 (E)-β-Farnesene 43
 0.993±0.11f 1.521±0.17d 1.406±0.14e 1.992±0.12a 1.649±0.09c 1.007±0.07f 1.860±0.08b 1462 Allo-Aromadendrene 44
 4.026±0.47f 6.133±0.60e 6.098±0.64e 7.254±0.55c 7.007±0.52d 7.561±0.41a 7.453±0.19b 1480 Germacrene D 45
 1.901±0.32d 3.197±0.30c 2.913±0.21c 4.195±0.37b 4.071±0.34b 4.534±0.21a 4.474±0.19a 1496 Bicyclogermacrene 46
 0.190±0.01d 0.511±0.04a 0.471±0.04ab 0.451±0.04 0.397±0.05c 0.485±0.03ab 0.467±0.03ab 1498 Trans-β-Guaiene 47
 1.191±0.06e 2.010±0.07d 1.927±0.08d 2.682±0.09b 2.519±0.09c 2.795±0.08a 2.565±0.07c 1508 α-Bulnesene 48
 3.323±0.37f 5.423±0.48de 5.343±0.40e 5.741±0.31c 5.677±0.26cd 6.972±0.16a 6.085±0.15b 1514 γ-Cadinene 49
 0.859±0.07e 1.214±0.13b 1.146±0.10cd 1.150±0.12c 1.097±0.09d 1.281±0.07a 1.228±0.06b 1521 β-Sesquiphellandrene 50
 0.486±0.05e 0.612±0.05d 0.651±0.07d 0.698±0.05bc 0.683±0.07cd 0.748±0.06a 0.731±0.04ab 1524 δ-Cadinene 51
 0.150±0.01e 0.402±0.03d 0.376±0.03d 0.582±0.04a 0.461±0.06c 0.504±0.04b 0.478±0.03bc 1537 α-Cadinene 52
 0.394±0.02f 0.659±0.05e 0.635±0.06e 0.944±0.07b 0.799±0.06d 0.990±0.07a 0.880±0.06c 1564 (E)-Nerolidol 53
 ------------ 0.226±0.01ab 0.197±0.02c 0.223±0.01ab 0.215±0.04bc 0.240±0.02a 0.230±0.01ab 1575 Germacrene D-4-ol 54
 ------------ 0.214±0.02ab 0.182±0.02c 0.215±0.02ab 0.190±0.02c 0.228±0.01a 0.195±0.01bc 1577 Spathulenol 55
 ------------ 0.523±0.05b 0.494±0.04c 0.529±0.05b 0.485±0.04c 0.556±0.05a 0.516±0.04b 1599 n-Hexadecane 56
 2.65±0.20d 3.301±0.22b 3.205±0.19bc 3.510±0.22a 3.055±0.17c 3.566±0.10a 3.680±0.11a 1614 1,10-di-epi-Cubenol 57
 24.679±1.78e 27.520±1.58c 27.402±1.70c 28.510±1.64b 26.620±1.55d 29.062±1.31a 28.737±1.22b 1642 epi-α-Cadinol 58
 1.039±0.10d 1.663±0.09a 1.611±0.09a 1.404±0.10bc 1.391±0.08c 1.461±0.06b 1.399±0.07c 1649 β-Eudesmol 59
 1.353±0.10d 1.588±0.09a 1.574±0.11a 1.421±0.09c 1.409±0.09c 1.508±0.06b 1.456±0.07c 1654 α-Cadinol 60
 0.248±0.01d 0.543±0.03ab 0.544±0.04ab 0.462±0.05c 0.419±0.05c 0.592±0.04a 0.536±0.04b 1685 β-Bisabolol 61

Data are mean ±standard deviation of eight replications. Means followed by the same letter within a row are not significantly different according to Duncan’s 
multiple range test at P< 0.05.

34 V. Tavallali, H. Gholami, O. Espargham

Tab. 1:  Phytochemical profile (%) identified in essential oil of sweet basil supplied with diverse zinc and salicylic acid sources.

 Control Salicylic  Salicylic Zn-EDTA Zn-EDTA n[Zn(SA)2] n[Zn(SA)2] Retention Compound No.
  acid 0.2% acid 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% Index 

 ----------- 0.422±0.05a 0.377±0.03b 0.238±0.02cd 0.212±0.01d  0.251±0.02c 0.258±0.07c 932 α-Pinene 1
 ----------- 0.631±0.07a 0.580±0.06b 0.583±0.06b 0.571±0.05b 0.602±0.04b 0.576±0.03b 972 Sabinene 2
 ------------ 1.167±0.27a 1.084±0.23a 0.271±0.03b 0.224±0.02c 0.208±0.01c 0.286±0.04b 976 β-Pinene 3
 ------------ 3.224±0.59a 3.110±0.52a 0.416±0.03d 0.508±0.04b 0.510±0.03b 0.469±0.02c 990 Myrcene 4
 3.357±0.43a 0.966±0.07b 0.884±0.07c 0.611±0.05d 3.587±0.45a 0.425±0.03e 0.606±0.04d 999 n-Decane 5
 ------------ 0.127±0.02b 0.158±0.03a 0.121±0.03bc 0.091±0.006d 0.132±0.01ab 0.105±0.02cd 1005 α-Phellandrene 6
 ------------ 0.167±0.01a 0.092±0.007cd 0.102±0.01bc 0.069±0.005e 0.115±0.02b 0.081±0.007de 1016 α-Terpinene 7
 ------------ 0.029±0.004d 0.015±0.002e 0.082±0.005b 0.058±0.006c 0.093±0.007a 0.048±0.003c 1024 p-Cymene 8
 0.289±0.02b 0.796±0.07a 0.754±0.06a 0.142±0.02cd 0.127±0.02d 0.150±0.01c 0.134±0.01d 1028 Limonene 9
 3.463±0.66a 1.121±0.31b 1.074±0.20b 0.602±0.05c 3.523±0.50a 0.614±0.05c 1.088±0.11b 1030 1,8-Cineole 10
 0.397±0.04a 0.125±0.01c 0.101±0.01d 0.145±0.03bc 0.126±0.02c 0.153±0.01b 0.137±0.02bc 1036 (Z)-β-Ocimene 11
 ----------- 0.039±0.004d 0.018±0.002e 0.085±0.006ab 0.062±0.004c 0.094±0.006a 0.075±0.003b 1041 Benzene acetaldehyde 12
 ------------ 0.602±0.07a 0.581±0.05ab 0.561±0.04ab 0.549±0.05b 0.567±0.04ab 0.566±0.03ab 1046 (E)-β-Ocimene 13
 ------------ 0.126±0.02b 0.118±0.02b 0.142±0.02a 0.128±0.01b 0.123±0.01b 0.139±0.01a 1057 γ-Terpinene 14
 ----------- 0.163±0.03a 0.150±0.02ab 0.145±0.03b 0.137±0.02b 0.120±0.01c 0.151±0. 01ab 1066 cis-Sabinene hydrate 15
 ----------- 0.371±0.04a 0.324±0.03bc 0.319±0.04bc 0.281±0.03d 0.332±0.02b 0.309±0.02c 1088 Terpinolene 16
 10.850±1.89a 5.733±0.51b 5.696±0.45b 0.593±0.05c 0.584±0.06c 0.516±0.04d 0.590±0.04c 1099 Linalool 17
 ------------ 0.136±0.02a 0.129±0.02a 0.072±0.007b 0.061±0.004c 0.079±0.005b 0.062±0.004c 1112 1-Octen-3-yl acetate 18
 ------------ 0.089±0.009d 0.058±0.006e 0.119±0.01ab 0.102±0.03c 0.128±0.01a 0.114±0.01b 1144 Camphor 19
 ------------ 0.220±0.02a 0.190±0.03b 0.161±0.02c 0.132±0.02d 0.198±0.02b 0.170±0.02c 1166 δ-Terpineol 20
 ------------ 0.097±0.007a 0.077±0.005b 0.076±0.006b 0.066±0.006c 0.097±0.007a 0.090±0.002a 1177 Terpinen-4-ol 21
 0.483±0.05f 1.360±0.18b 2.110±0.26a 0.703±0.05d 0.682±0.05de 0.664±0.04e 0.761±0.04c 1190 α-Terpineol 22
 0.783±0.07a 0.203±0.04e 0.177±0.03e 0.690±0.06b 0.512±0.04c 0.414±0.03d 0.565±0.03c 1199 n-Dodecane 23
 0.965±0.07a 0.821±0.08b 0.798±0.07b 0.589±0.06c 0.346±0.04d 0.604±0.05c 0.605±0.04c 1212 Octanol acetate 24
 0.248±0.01a 0.098±0.009c 0.088±0.007c 0.195±0.01b 0.101±0.009c 0.199±0.02b 0.250±0.02a 1222 Trans-Carveol 25
 ------------ 0.129±0.02b 0.108±0.02b 0.791±0.06a 0.753±0.06a 0.043±0.003c 0.036±0.003c 1256 Linalyl acetate 26
 6.657±1.03a 1.843±0.28d 2.644±0.36b 1.692±0.23 2.395±0.18c 1.005±0.08f 1.332±0.12e 1286 Bornyl acetate 27
 0.146±0.01f 0.219±0.03e 0.184±0.03e 0.562±0.05a 0.365±0.03d 0.497±0.03b 0.444±0.03c 1337 δ-Elemene 28
 0.095±0.007c 0.224±0.03a 0.199±0.04a 0.154±0.02b 0.135±0.02b 0.135±0.01b 0.146±0.01b 1349 α-Terpinyl acetate 29
 12.704±1.77a 1.140±0.21e 2.288±0.27b 1.711±0.12c 1.389±0.09d 0.403±0.03g 0.741±0.05f 1358 Eugenol 30
 0.056±0.006d 0.121±0.01b 0.091±0.008c 0.314±0.04a 0.291±0.04a 0.292±0.02a 0.297±0.02a 1375 α-Copaene 31
 0.084±0.009d 0.130±0.01c 0.060±0.007e 0.214±0.02a 0.130±0.02c 0.222±0.02a 0.168±0.01b 1390 β-Cubebene 32
 4.894±0.42d 6.117±0.49c 6.083±0.41c 7.520±0.30b 7.245±0.25b 7.970±0.18a 7.877±0.21a 1392 β-Elemene 33
 ------------ 0.092±0.009d 0.078±0.008d 0.339±0.04a 0.253±0.03c 0.256±0.01c 0.288±0.02b 1400 n-Tetradeane 34
 0.330±0.02cd 0.715±0.05a 0.702±0.06a 0.392±0.04b 0.345±0.03c 0.309±0.02d 0.341±0.02c 1405 Methyl eugenol 35
 ------------ 0.072±0.007a 0.051±0.006b 0.072±0.005a 0.051±0.004b 0.076±0.005a 0.053±0.006b 1415 Cis-α-Bergamotene 36
 0.196±0.02e 0.338±0.04d 0.308±0.05d 0.597±0.04a 0.469±0.03c 0.563±0.04b 0.587±0.04ab 1418 (E)-Caryophyllene 37
 ------------ 0.051±0.005d 0.036±0.004e 0.077±0.005a 0.039±0.003e 0.070±0.004b 0.059±0.005c 1428 β-Gurjunene 38
 8.369±0.86d 9.222±0.92c 9.093±0.87c 11.150±1.08b 10.920±1.06b 11.903±1.10a 11.838±1.02a 1436 trans-α-Bergamotene 39
 0.514±0.06d 0.606±0.07c 0.565±0.05c 1.148±0.11a 0.943±0.07b 1.108±0.09a 0.938±0.06b 1438 α-Guaiene 40
 0.063±0.006e 0.233±0.03a 0.186±0.02c 0.207±0.01abc 0.132±0.01d 0.219±0.02ab 0.196±0.01bc 1443 (Z)-β-Farnesene 41
 1.323±0.12e 2.157±0.15d 1.968±0.17d 2.814±0.19b 2.752±0.18c 2.897±0.18a 2.912±0.17a 1453 α-Humulene 42
 0.247±0.01e 0.448±0.05c 0.403±0.04d 0.459±0.05bc 0.392±0.04 0.560±0.04a 0.488±0.03b 1457 (E)-β-Farnesene 43
 0.993±0.11f 1.521±0.17d 1.406±0.14e 1.992±0.12a 1.649±0.09c 1.007±0.07f 1.860±0.08b 1462 Allo-Aromadendrene 44
 4.026±0.47f 6.133±0.60e 6.098±0.64e 7.254±0.55c 7.007±0.52d 7.561±0.41a 7.453±0.19b 1480 Germacrene D 45
 1.901±0.32d 3.197±0.30c 2.913±0.21c 4.195±0.37b 4.071±0.34b 4.534±0.21a 4.474±0.19a 1496 Bicyclogermacrene 46
 0.190±0.01d 0.511±0.04a 0.471±0.04ab 0.451±0.04 0.397±0.05c 0.485±0.03ab 0.467±0.03ab 1498 Trans-β-Guaiene 47
 1.191±0.06e 2.010±0.07d 1.927±0.08d 2.682±0.09b 2.519±0.09c 2.795±0.08a 2.565±0.07c 1508 α-Bulnesene 48
 3.323±0.37f 5.423±0.48de 5.343±0.40e 5.741±0.31c 5.677±0.26cd 6.972±0.16a 6.085±0.15b 1514 γ-Cadinene 49
 0.859±0.07e 1.214±0.13b 1.146±0.10cd 1.150±0.12c 1.097±0.09d 1.281±0.07a 1.228±0.06b 1521 β-Sesquiphellandrene 50
 0.486±0.05e 0.612±0.05d 0.651±0.07d 0.698±0.05bc 0.683±0.07cd 0.748±0.06a 0.731±0.04ab 1524 δ-Cadinene 51
 0.150±0.01e 0.402±0.03d 0.376±0.03d 0.582±0.04a 0.461±0.06c 0.504±0.04b 0.478±0.03bc 1537 α-Cadinene 52
 0.394±0.02f 0.659±0.05e 0.635±0.06e 0.944±0.07b 0.799±0.06d 0.990±0.07a 0.880±0.06c 1564 (E)-Nerolidol 53
 ------------ 0.226±0.01ab 0.197±0.02c 0.223±0.01ab 0.215±0.04bc 0.240±0.02a 0.230±0.01ab 1575 Germacrene D-4-ol 54
 ------------ 0.214±0.02ab 0.182±0.02c 0.215±0.02ab 0.190±0.02c 0.228±0.01a 0.195±0.01bc 1577 Spathulenol 55
 ------------ 0.523±0.05b 0.494±0.04c 0.529±0.05b 0.485±0.04c 0.556±0.05a 0.516±0.04b 1599 n-Hexadecane 56
 2.65±0.20d 3.301±0.22b 3.205±0.19bc 3.510±0.22a 3.055±0.17c 3.566±0.10a 3.680±0.11a 1614 1,10-di-epi-Cubenol 57
 24.679±1.78e 27.520±1.58c 27.402±1.70c 28.510±1.64b 26.620±1.55d 29.062±1.31a 28.737±1.22b 1642 epi-α-Cadinol 58
 1.039±0.10d 1.663±0.09a 1.611±0.09a 1.404±0.10bc 1.391±0.08c 1.461±0.06b 1.399±0.07c 1649 β-Eudesmol 59
 1.353±0.10d 1.588±0.09a 1.574±0.11a 1.421±0.09c 1.409±0.09c 1.508±0.06b 1.456±0.07c 1654 α-Cadinol 60
 0.248±0.01d 0.543±0.03ab 0.544±0.04ab 0.462±0.05c 0.419±0.05c 0.592±0.04a 0.536±0.04b 1685 β-Bisabolol 61

Data are mean ±standard deviation of eight replications. Means followed by the same letter within a row are not significantly different according to Duncan’s 
multiple range test at P< 0.05.

34 V. Tavallali, H. Gholami, O. Espargham

Tab. 1:  Phytochemical profile (%) identified in essential oil of sweet basil supplied with diverse zinc and salicylic acid sources.

 Control Salicylic  Salicylic Zn-EDTA Zn-EDTA n[Zn(SA)2] n[Zn(SA)2] Retention Compound No.
  acid 0.2% acid 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% Index 

 ----------- 0.422±0.05a 0.377±0.03b 0.238±0.02cd 0.212±0.01d  0.251±0.02c 0.258±0.07c 932 α-Pinene 1
 ----------- 0.631±0.07a 0.580±0.06b 0.583±0.06b 0.571±0.05b 0.602±0.04b 0.576±0.03b 972 Sabinene 2
 ------------ 1.167±0.27a 1.084±0.23a 0.271±0.03b 0.224±0.02c 0.208±0.01c 0.286±0.04b 976 β-Pinene 3
 ------------ 3.224±0.59a 3.110±0.52a 0.416±0.03d 0.508±0.04b 0.510±0.03b 0.469±0.02c 990 Myrcene 4
 3.357±0.43a 0.966±0.07b 0.884±0.07c 0.611±0.05d 3.587±0.45a 0.425±0.03e 0.606±0.04d 999 n-Decane 5
 ------------ 0.127±0.02b 0.158±0.03a 0.121±0.03bc 0.091±0.006d 0.132±0.01ab 0.105±0.02cd 1005 α-Phellandrene 6
 ------------ 0.167±0.01a 0.092±0.007cd 0.102±0.01bc 0.069±0.005e 0.115±0.02b 0.081±0.007de 1016 α-Terpinene 7
 ------------ 0.029±0.004d 0.015±0.002e 0.082±0.005b 0.058±0.006c 0.093±0.007a 0.048±0.003c 1024 p-Cymene 8
 0.289±0.02b 0.796±0.07a 0.754±0.06a 0.142±0.02cd 0.127±0.02d 0.150±0.01c 0.134±0.01d 1028 Limonene 9
 3.463±0.66a 1.121±0.31b 1.074±0.20b 0.602±0.05c 3.523±0.50a 0.614±0.05c 1.088±0.11b 1030 1,8-Cineole 10
 0.397±0.04a 0.125±0.01c 0.101±0.01d 0.145±0.03bc 0.126±0.02c 0.153±0.01b 0.137±0.02bc 1036 (Z)-β-Ocimene 11
 ----------- 0.039±0.004d 0.018±0.002e 0.085±0.006ab 0.062±0.004c 0.094±0.006a 0.075±0.003b 1041 Benzene acetaldehyde 12
 ------------ 0.602±0.07a 0.581±0.05ab 0.561±0.04ab 0.549±0.05b 0.567±0.04ab 0.566±0.03ab 1046 (E)-β-Ocimene 13
 ------------ 0.126±0.02b 0.118±0.02b 0.142±0.02a 0.128±0.01b 0.123±0.01b 0.139±0.01a 1057 γ-Terpinene 14
 ----------- 0.163±0.03a 0.150±0.02ab 0.145±0.03b 0.137±0.02b 0.120±0.01c 0.151±0. 01ab 1066 cis-Sabinene hydrate 15
 ----------- 0.371±0.04a 0.324±0.03bc 0.319±0.04bc 0.281±0.03d 0.332±0.02b 0.309±0.02c 1088 Terpinolene 16
 10.850±1.89a 5.733±0.51b 5.696±0.45b 0.593±0.05c 0.584±0.06c 0.516±0.04d 0.590±0.04c 1099 Linalool 17
 ------------ 0.136±0.02a 0.129±0.02a 0.072±0.007b 0.061±0.004c 0.079±0.005b 0.062±0.004c 1112 1-Octen-3-yl acetate 18
 ------------ 0.089±0.009d 0.058±0.006e 0.119±0.01ab 0.102±0.03c 0.128±0.01a 0.114±0.01b 1144 Camphor 19
 ------------ 0.220±0.02a 0.190±0.03b 0.161±0.02c 0.132±0.02d 0.198±0.02b 0.170±0.02c 1166 δ-Terpineol 20
 ------------ 0.097±0.007a 0.077±0.005b 0.076±0.006b 0.066±0.006c 0.097±0.007a 0.090±0.002a 1177 Terpinen-4-ol 21
 0.483±0.05f 1.360±0.18b 2.110±0.26a 0.703±0.05d 0.682±0.05de 0.664±0.04e 0.761±0.04c 1190 α-Terpineol 22
 0.783±0.07a 0.203±0.04e 0.177±0.03e 0.690±0.06b 0.512±0.04c 0.414±0.03d 0.565±0.03c 1199 n-Dodecane 23
 0.965±0.07a 0.821±0.08b 0.798±0.07b 0.589±0.06c 0.346±0.04d 0.604±0.05c 0.605±0.04c 1212 Octanol acetate 24
 0.248±0.01a 0.098±0.009c 0.088±0.007c 0.195±0.01b 0.101±0.009c 0.199±0.02b 0.250±0.02a 1222 Trans-Carveol 25
 ------------ 0.129±0.02b 0.108±0.02b 0.791±0.06a 0.753±0.06a 0.043±0.003c 0.036±0.003c 1256 Linalyl acetate 26
 6.657±1.03a 1.843±0.28d 2.644±0.36b 1.692±0.23 2.395±0.18c 1.005±0.08f 1.332±0.12e 1286 Bornyl acetate 27
 0.146±0.01f 0.219±0.03e 0.184±0.03e 0.562±0.05a 0.365±0.03d 0.497±0.03b 0.444±0.03c 1337 δ-Elemene 28
 0.095±0.007c 0.224±0.03a 0.199±0.04a 0.154±0.02b 0.135±0.02b 0.135±0.01b 0.146±0.01b 1349 α-Terpinyl acetate 29
 12.704±1.77a 1.140±0.21e 2.288±0.27b 1.711±0.12c 1.389±0.09d 0.403±0.03g 0.741±0.05f 1358 Eugenol 30
 0.056±0.006d 0.121±0.01b 0.091±0.008c 0.314±0.04a 0.291±0.04a 0.292±0.02a 0.297±0.02a 1375 α-Copaene 31
 0.084±0.009d 0.130±0.01c 0.060±0.007e 0.214±0.02a 0.130±0.02c 0.222±0.02a 0.168±0.01b 1390 β-Cubebene 32
 4.894±0.42d 6.117±0.49c 6.083±0.41c 7.520±0.30b 7.245±0.25b 7.970±0.18a 7.877±0.21a 1392 β-Elemene 33
 ------------ 0.092±0.009d 0.078±0.008d 0.339±0.04a 0.253±0.03c 0.256±0.01c 0.288±0.02b 1400 n-Tetradeane 34
 0.330±0.02cd 0.715±0.05a 0.702±0.06a 0.392±0.04b 0.345±0.03c 0.309±0.02d 0.341±0.02c 1405 Methyl eugenol 35
 ------------ 0.072±0.007a 0.051±0.006b 0.072±0.005a 0.051±0.004b 0.076±0.005a 0.053±0.006b 1415 Cis-α-Bergamotene 36
 0.196±0.02e 0.338±0.04d 0.308±0.05d 0.597±0.04a 0.469±0.03c 0.563±0.04b 0.587±0.04ab 1418 (E)-Caryophyllene 37
 ------------ 0.051±0.005d 0.036±0.004e 0.077±0.005a 0.039±0.003e 0.070±0.004b 0.059±0.005c 1428 β-Gurjunene 38
 8.369±0.86d 9.222±0.92c 9.093±0.87c 11.150±1.08b 10.920±1.06b 11.903±1.10a 11.838±1.02a 1436 trans-α-Bergamotene 39
 0.514±0.06d 0.606±0.07c 0.565±0.05c 1.148±0.11a 0.943±0.07b 1.108±0.09a 0.938±0.06b 1438 α-Guaiene 40
 0.063±0.006e 0.233±0.03a 0.186±0.02c 0.207±0.01abc 0.132±0.01d 0.219±0.02ab 0.196±0.01bc 1443 (Z)-β-Farnesene 41
 1.323±0.12e 2.157±0.15d 1.968±0.17d 2.814±0.19b 2.752±0.18c 2.897±0.18a 2.912±0.17a 1453 α-Humulene 42
 0.247±0.01e 0.448±0.05c 0.403±0.04d 0.459±0.05bc 0.392±0.04 0.560±0.04a 0.488±0.03b 1457 (E)-β-Farnesene 43
 0.993±0.11f 1.521±0.17d 1.406±0.14e 1.992±0.12a 1.649±0.09c 1.007±0.07f 1.860±0.08b 1462 Allo-Aromadendrene 44
 4.026±0.47f 6.133±0.60e 6.098±0.64e 7.254±0.55c 7.007±0.52d 7.561±0.41a 7.453±0.19b 1480 Germacrene D 45
 1.901±0.32d 3.197±0.30c 2.913±0.21c 4.195±0.37b 4.071±0.34b 4.534±0.21a 4.474±0.19a 1496 Bicyclogermacrene 46
 0.190±0.01d 0.511±0.04a 0.471±0.04ab 0.451±0.04 0.397±0.05c 0.485±0.03ab 0.467±0.03ab 1498 Trans-β-Guaiene 47
 1.191±0.06e 2.010±0.07d 1.927±0.08d 2.682±0.09b 2.519±0.09c 2.795±0.08a 2.565±0.07c 1508 α-Bulnesene 48
 3.323±0.37f 5.423±0.48de 5.343±0.40e 5.741±0.31c 5.677±0.26cd 6.972±0.16a 6.085±0.15b 1514 γ-Cadinene 49
 0.859±0.07e 1.214±0.13b 1.146±0.10cd 1.150±0.12c 1.097±0.09d 1.281±0.07a 1.228±0.06b 1521 β-Sesquiphellandrene 50
 0.486±0.05e 0.612±0.05d 0.651±0.07d 0.698±0.05bc 0.683±0.07cd 0.748±0.06a 0.731±0.04ab 1524 δ-Cadinene 51
 0.150±0.01e 0.402±0.03d 0.376±0.03d 0.582±0.04a 0.461±0.06c 0.504±0.04b 0.478±0.03bc 1537 α-Cadinene 52
 0.394±0.02f 0.659±0.05e 0.635±0.06e 0.944±0.07b 0.799±0.06d 0.990±0.07a 0.880±0.06c 1564 (E)-Nerolidol 53
 ------------ 0.226±0.01ab 0.197±0.02c 0.223±0.01ab 0.215±0.04bc 0.240±0.02a 0.230±0.01ab 1575 Germacrene D-4-ol 54
 ------------ 0.214±0.02ab 0.182±0.02c 0.215±0.02ab 0.190±0.02c 0.228±0.01a 0.195±0.01bc 1577 Spathulenol 55
 ------------ 0.523±0.05b 0.494±0.04c 0.529±0.05b 0.485±0.04c 0.556±0.05a 0.516±0.04b 1599 n-Hexadecane 56
 2.65±0.20d 3.301±0.22b 3.205±0.19bc 3.510±0.22a 3.055±0.17c 3.566±0.10a 3.680±0.11a 1614 1,10-di-epi-Cubenol 57
 24.679±1.78e 27.520±1.58c 27.402±1.70c 28.510±1.64b 26.620±1.55d 29.062±1.31a 28.737±1.22b 1642 epi-α-Cadinol 58
 1.039±0.10d 1.663±0.09a 1.611±0.09a 1.404±0.10bc 1.391±0.08c 1.461±0.06b 1.399±0.07c 1649 β-Eudesmol 59
 1.353±0.10d 1.588±0.09a 1.574±0.11a 1.421±0.09c 1.409±0.09c 1.508±0.06b 1.456±0.07c 1654 α-Cadinol 60
 0.248±0.01d 0.543±0.03ab 0.544±0.04ab 0.462±0.05c 0.419±0.05c 0.592±0.04a 0.536±0.04b 1685 β-Bisabolol 61

Data are mean ±standard deviation of eight replications. Means followed by the same letter within a row are not significantly different according to Duncan’s 
multiple range test at P< 0.05.

34 V. Tavallali, H. Gholami, O. Espargham

Tab. 1:  Phytochemical profile (%) identified in essential oil of sweet basil supplied with diverse zinc and salicylic acid sources.

 Control Salicylic  Salicylic Zn-EDTA Zn-EDTA n[Zn(SA)2] n[Zn(SA)2] Retention Compound No.
  acid 0.2% acid 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% Index 

 ----------- 0.422±0.05a 0.377±0.03b 0.238±0.02cd 0.212±0.01d  0.251±0.02c 0.258±0.07c 932 α-Pinene 1
 ----------- 0.631±0.07a 0.580±0.06b 0.583±0.06b 0.571±0.05b 0.602±0.04b 0.576±0.03b 972 Sabinene 2
 ------------ 1.167±0.27a 1.084±0.23a 0.271±0.03b 0.224±0.02c 0.208±0.01c 0.286±0.04b 976 β-Pinene 3
 ------------ 3.224±0.59a 3.110±0.52a 0.416±0.03d 0.508±0.04b 0.510±0.03b 0.469±0.02c 990 Myrcene 4
 3.357±0.43a 0.966±0.07b 0.884±0.07c 0.611±0.05d 3.587±0.45a 0.425±0.03e 0.606±0.04d 999 n-Decane 5
 ------------ 0.127±0.02b 0.158±0.03a 0.121±0.03bc 0.091±0.006d 0.132±0.01ab 0.105±0.02cd 1005 α-Phellandrene 6
 ------------ 0.167±0.01a 0.092±0.007cd 0.102±0.01bc 0.069±0.005e 0.115±0.02b 0.081±0.007de 1016 α-Terpinene 7
 ------------ 0.029±0.004d 0.015±0.002e 0.082±0.005b 0.058±0.006c 0.093±0.007a 0.048±0.003c 1024 p-Cymene 8
 0.289±0.02b 0.796±0.07a 0.754±0.06a 0.142±0.02cd 0.127±0.02d 0.150±0.01c 0.134±0.01d 1028 Limonene 9
 3.463±0.66a 1.121±0.31b 1.074±0.20b 0.602±0.05c 3.523±0.50a 0.614±0.05c 1.088±0.11b 1030 1,8-Cineole 10
 0.397±0.04a 0.125±0.01c 0.101±0.01d 0.145±0.03bc 0.126±0.02c 0.153±0.01b 0.137±0.02bc 1036 (Z)-β-Ocimene 11
 ----------- 0.039±0.004d 0.018±0.002e 0.085±0.006ab 0.062±0.004c 0.094±0.006a 0.075±0.003b 1041 Benzene acetaldehyde 12
 ------------ 0.602±0.07a 0.581±0.05ab 0.561±0.04ab 0.549±0.05b 0.567±0.04ab 0.566±0.03ab 1046 (E)-β-Ocimene 13
 ------------ 0.126±0.02b 0.118±0.02b 0.142±0.02a 0.128±0.01b 0.123±0.01b 0.139±0.01a 1057 γ-Terpinene 14
 ----------- 0.163±0.03a 0.150±0.02ab 0.145±0.03b 0.137±0.02b 0.120±0.01c 0.151±0. 01ab 1066 cis-Sabinene hydrate 15
 ----------- 0.371±0.04a 0.324±0.03bc 0.319±0.04bc 0.281±0.03d 0.332±0.02b 0.309±0.02c 1088 Terpinolene 16
 10.850±1.89a 5.733±0.51b 5.696±0.45b 0.593±0.05c 0.584±0.06c 0.516±0.04d 0.590±0.04c 1099 Linalool 17
 ------------ 0.136±0.02a 0.129±0.02a 0.072±0.007b 0.061±0.004c 0.079±0.005b 0.062±0.004c 1112 1-Octen-3-yl acetate 18
 ------------ 0.089±0.009d 0.058±0.006e 0.119±0.01ab 0.102±0.03c 0.128±0.01a 0.114±0.01b 1144 Camphor 19
 ------------ 0.220±0.02a 0.190±0.03b 0.161±0.02c 0.132±0.02d 0.198±0.02b 0.170±0.02c 1166 δ-Terpineol 20
 ------------ 0.097±0.007a 0.077±0.005b 0.076±0.006b 0.066±0.006c 0.097±0.007a 0.090±0.002a 1177 Terpinen-4-ol 21
 0.483±0.05f 1.360±0.18b 2.110±0.26a 0.703±0.05d 0.682±0.05de 0.664±0.04e 0.761±0.04c 1190 α-Terpineol 22
 0.783±0.07a 0.203±0.04e 0.177±0.03e 0.690±0.06b 0.512±0.04c 0.414±0.03d 0.565±0.03c 1199 n-Dodecane 23
 0.965±0.07a 0.821±0.08b 0.798±0.07b 0.589±0.06c 0.346±0.04d 0.604±0.05c 0.605±0.04c 1212 Octanol acetate 24
 0.248±0.01a 0.098±0.009c 0.088±0.007c 0.195±0.01b 0.101±0.009c 0.199±0.02b 0.250±0.02a 1222 Trans-Carveol 25
 ------------ 0.129±0.02b 0.108±0.02b 0.791±0.06a 0.753±0.06a 0.043±0.003c 0.036±0.003c 1256 Linalyl acetate 26
 6.657±1.03a 1.843±0.28d 2.644±0.36b 1.692±0.23 2.395±0.18c 1.005±0.08f 1.332±0.12e 1286 Bornyl acetate 27
 0.146±0.01f 0.219±0.03e 0.184±0.03e 0.562±0.05a 0.365±0.03d 0.497±0.03b 0.444±0.03c 1337 δ-Elemene 28
 0.095±0.007c 0.224±0.03a 0.199±0.04a 0.154±0.02b 0.135±0.02b 0.135±0.01b 0.146±0.01b 1349 α-Terpinyl acetate 29
 12.704±1.77a 1.140±0.21e 2.288±0.27b 1.711±0.12c 1.389±0.09d 0.403±0.03g 0.741±0.05f 1358 Eugenol 30
 0.056±0.006d 0.121±0.01b 0.091±0.008c 0.314±0.04a 0.291±0.04a 0.292±0.02a 0.297±0.02a 1375 α-Copaene 31
 0.084±0.009d 0.130±0.01c 0.060±0.007e 0.214±0.02a 0.130±0.02c 0.222±0.02a 0.168±0.01b 1390 β-Cubebene 32
 4.894±0.42d 6.117±0.49c 6.083±0.41c 7.520±0.30b 7.245±0.25b 7.970±0.18a 7.877±0.21a 1392 β-Elemene 33
 ------------ 0.092±0.009d 0.078±0.008d 0.339±0.04a 0.253±0.03c 0.256±0.01c 0.288±0.02b 1400 n-Tetradeane 34
 0.330±0.02cd 0.715±0.05a 0.702±0.06a 0.392±0.04b 0.345±0.03c 0.309±0.02d 0.341±0.02c 1405 Methyl eugenol 35
 ------------ 0.072±0.007a 0.051±0.006b 0.072±0.005a 0.051±0.004b 0.076±0.005a 0.053±0.006b 1415 Cis-α-Bergamotene 36
 0.196±0.02e 0.338±0.04d 0.308±0.05d 0.597±0.04a 0.469±0.03c 0.563±0.04b 0.587±0.04ab 1418 (E)-Caryophyllene 37
 ------------ 0.051±0.005d 0.036±0.004e 0.077±0.005a 0.039±0.003e 0.070±0.004b 0.059±0.005c 1428 β-Gurjunene 38
 8.369±0.86d 9.222±0.92c 9.093±0.87c 11.150±1.08b 10.920±1.06b 11.903±1.10a 11.838±1.02a 1436 trans-α-Bergamotene 39
 0.514±0.06d 0.606±0.07c 0.565±0.05c 1.148±0.11a 0.943±0.07b 1.108±0.09a 0.938±0.06b 1438 α-Guaiene 40
 0.063±0.006e 0.233±0.03a 0.186±0.02c 0.207±0.01abc 0.132±0.01d 0.219±0.02ab 0.196±0.01bc 1443 (Z)-β-Farnesene 41
 1.323±0.12e 2.157±0.15d 1.968±0.17d 2.814±0.19b 2.752±0.18c 2.897±0.18a 2.912±0.17a 1453 α-Humulene 42
 0.247±0.01e 0.448±0.05c 0.403±0.04d 0.459±0.05bc 0.392±0.04 0.560±0.04a 0.488±0.03b 1457 (E)-β-Farnesene 43
 0.993±0.11f 1.521±0.17d 1.406±0.14e 1.992±0.12a 1.649±0.09c 1.007±0.07f 1.860±0.08b 1462 Allo-Aromadendrene 44
 4.026±0.47f 6.133±0.60e 6.098±0.64e 7.254±0.55c 7.007±0.52d 7.561±0.41a 7.453±0.19b 1480 Germacrene D 45
 1.901±0.32d 3.197±0.30c 2.913±0.21c 4.195±0.37b 4.071±0.34b 4.534±0.21a 4.474±0.19a 1496 Bicyclogermacrene 46
 0.190±0.01d 0.511±0.04a 0.471±0.04ab 0.451±0.04 0.397±0.05c 0.485±0.03ab 0.467±0.03ab 1498 Trans-β-Guaiene 47
 1.191±0.06e 2.010±0.07d 1.927±0.08d 2.682±0.09b 2.519±0.09c 2.795±0.08a 2.565±0.07c 1508 α-Bulnesene 48
 3.323±0.37f 5.423±0.48de 5.343±0.40e 5.741±0.31c 5.677±0.26cd 6.972±0.16a 6.085±0.15b 1514 γ-Cadinene 49
 0.859±0.07e 1.214±0.13b 1.146±0.10cd 1.150±0.12c 1.097±0.09d 1.281±0.07a 1.228±0.06b 1521 β-Sesquiphellandrene 50
 0.486±0.05e 0.612±0.05d 0.651±0.07d 0.698±0.05bc 0.683±0.07cd 0.748±0.06a 0.731±0.04ab 1524 δ-Cadinene 51
 0.150±0.01e 0.402±0.03d 0.376±0.03d 0.582±0.04a 0.461±0.06c 0.504±0.04b 0.478±0.03bc 1537 α-Cadinene 52
 0.394±0.02f 0.659±0.05e 0.635±0.06e 0.944±0.07b 0.799±0.06d 0.990±0.07a 0.880±0.06c 1564 (E)-Nerolidol 53
 ------------ 0.226±0.01ab 0.197±0.02c 0.223±0.01ab 0.215±0.04bc 0.240±0.02a 0.230±0.01ab 1575 Germacrene D-4-ol 54
 ------------ 0.214±0.02ab 0.182±0.02c 0.215±0.02ab 0.190±0.02c 0.228±0.01a 0.195±0.01bc 1577 Spathulenol 55
 ------------ 0.523±0.05b 0.494±0.04c 0.529±0.05b 0.485±0.04c 0.556±0.05a 0.516±0.04b 1599 n-Hexadecane 56
 2.65±0.20d 3.301±0.22b 3.205±0.19bc 3.510±0.22a 3.055±0.17c 3.566±0.10a 3.680±0.11a 1614 1,10-di-epi-Cubenol 57
 24.679±1.78e 27.520±1.58c 27.402±1.70c 28.510±1.64b 26.620±1.55d 29.062±1.31a 28.737±1.22b 1642 epi-α-Cadinol 58
 1.039±0.10d 1.663±0.09a 1.611±0.09a 1.404±0.10bc 1.391±0.08c 1.461±0.06b 1.399±0.07c 1649 β-Eudesmol 59
 1.353±0.10d 1.588±0.09a 1.574±0.11a 1.421±0.09c 1.409±0.09c 1.508±0.06b 1.456±0.07c 1654 α-Cadinol 60
 0.248±0.01d 0.543±0.03ab 0.544±0.04ab 0.462±0.05c 0.419±0.05c 0.592±0.04a 0.536±0.04b 1685 β-Bisabolol 61

Data are mean ±standard deviation of eight replications. Means followed by the same letter within a row are not significantly different according to Duncan’s 
multiple range test at P< 0.05.

34 V. Tavallali, H. Gholami, O. Espargham

Tab. 1:  Phytochemical profile (%) identified in essential oil of sweet basil supplied with diverse zinc and salicylic acid sources.

 Control Salicylic  Salicylic Zn-EDTA Zn-EDTA n[Zn(SA)2] n[Zn(SA)2] Retention Compound No.
  acid 0.2% acid 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% Index 

 ----------- 0.422±0.05a 0.377±0.03b 0.238±0.02cd 0.212±0.01d  0.251±0.02c 0.258±0.07c 932 α-Pinene 1
 ----------- 0.631±0.07a 0.580±0.06b 0.583±0.06b 0.571±0.05b 0.602±0.04b 0.576±0.03b 972 Sabinene 2
 ------------ 1.167±0.27a 1.084±0.23a 0.271±0.03b 0.224±0.02c 0.208±0.01c 0.286±0.04b 976 β-Pinene 3
 ------------ 3.224±0.59a 3.110±0.52a 0.416±0.03d 0.508±0.04b 0.510±0.03b 0.469±0.02c 990 Myrcene 4
 3.357±0.43a 0.966±0.07b 0.884±0.07c 0.611±0.05d 3.587±0.45a 0.425±0.03e 0.606±0.04d 999 n-Decane 5
 ------------ 0.127±0.02b 0.158±0.03a 0.121±0.03bc 0.091±0.006d 0.132±0.01ab 0.105±0.02cd 1005 α-Phellandrene 6
 ------------ 0.167±0.01a 0.092±0.007cd 0.102±0.01bc 0.069±0.005e 0.115±0.02b 0.081±0.007de 1016 α-Terpinene 7
 ------------ 0.029±0.004d 0.015±0.002e 0.082±0.005b 0.058±0.006c 0.093±0.007a 0.048±0.003c 1024 p-Cymene 8
 0.289±0.02b 0.796±0.07a 0.754±0.06a 0.142±0.02cd 0.127±0.02d 0.150±0.01c 0.134±0.01d 1028 Limonene 9
 3.463±0.66a 1.121±0.31b 1.074±0.20b 0.602±0.05c 3.523±0.50a 0.614±0.05c 1.088±0.11b 1030 1,8-Cineole 10
 0.397±0.04a 0.125±0.01c 0.101±0.01d 0.145±0.03bc 0.126±0.02c 0.153±0.01b 0.137±0.02bc 1036 (Z)-β-Ocimene 11
 ----------- 0.039±0.004d 0.018±0.002e 0.085±0.006ab 0.062±0.004c 0.094±0.006a 0.075±0.003b 1041 Benzene acetaldehyde 12
 ------------ 0.602±0.07a 0.581±0.05ab 0.561±0.04ab 0.549±0.05b 0.567±0.04ab 0.566±0.03ab 1046 (E)-β-Ocimene 13
 ------------ 0.126±0.02b 0.118±0.02b 0.142±0.02a 0.128±0.01b 0.123±0.01b 0.139±0.01a 1057 γ-Terpinene 14
 ----------- 0.163±0.03a 0.150±0.02ab 0.145±0.03b 0.137±0.02b 0.120±0.01c 0.151±0. 01ab 1066 cis-Sabinene hydrate 15
 ----------- 0.371±0.04a 0.324±0.03bc 0.319±0.04bc 0.281±0.03d 0.332±0.02b 0.309±0.02c 1088 Terpinolene 16
 10.850±1.89a 5.733±0.51b 5.696±0.45b 0.593±0.05c 0.584±0.06c 0.516±0.04d 0.590±0.04c 1099 Linalool 17
 ------------ 0.136±0.02a 0.129±0.02a 0.072±0.007b 0.061±0.004c 0.079±0.005b 0.062±0.004c 1112 1-Octen-3-yl acetate 18
 ------------ 0.089±0.009d 0.058±0.006e 0.119±0.01ab 0.102±0.03c 0.128±0.01a 0.114±0.01b 1144 Camphor 19
 ------------ 0.220±0.02a 0.190±0.03b 0.161±0.02c 0.132±0.02d 0.198±0.02b 0.170±0.02c 1166 δ-Terpineol 20
 ------------ 0.097±0.007a 0.077±0.005b 0.076±0.006b 0.066±0.006c 0.097±0.007a 0.090±0.002a 1177 Terpinen-4-ol 21
 0.483±0.05f 1.360±0.18b 2.110±0.26a 0.703±0.05d 0.682±0.05de 0.664±0.04e 0.761±0.04c 1190 α-Terpineol 22
 0.783±0.07a 0.203±0.04e 0.177±0.03e 0.690±0.06b 0.512±0.04c 0.414±0.03d 0.565±0.03c 1199 n-Dodecane 23
 0.965±0.07a 0.821±0.08b 0.798±0.07b 0.589±0.06c 0.346±0.04d 0.604±0.05c 0.605±0.04c 1212 Octanol acetate 24
 0.248±0.01a 0.098±0.009c 0.088±0.007c 0.195±0.01b 0.101±0.009c 0.199±0.02b 0.250±0.02a 1222 Trans-Carveol 25
 ------------ 0.129±0.02b 0.108±0.02b 0.791±0.06a 0.753±0.06a 0.043±0.003c 0.036±0.003c 1256 Linalyl acetate 26
 6.657±1.03a 1.843±0.28d 2.644±0.36b 1.692±0.23 2.395±0.18c 1.005±0.08f 1.332±0.12e 1286 Bornyl acetate 27
 0.146±0.01f 0.219±0.03e 0.184±0.03e 0.562±0.05a 0.365±0.03d 0.497±0.03b 0.444±0.03c 1337 δ-Elemene 28
 0.095±0.007c 0.224±0.03a 0.199±0.04a 0.154±0.02b 0.135±0.02b 0.135±0.01b 0.146±0.01b 1349 α-Terpinyl acetate 29
 12.704±1.77a 1.140±0.21e 2.288±0.27b 1.711±0.12c 1.389±0.09d 0.403±0.03g 0.741±0.05f 1358 Eugenol 30
 0.056±0.006d 0.121±0.01b 0.091±0.008c 0.314±0.04a 0.291±0.04a 0.292±0.02a 0.297±0.02a 1375 α-Copaene 31
 0.084±0.009d 0.130±0.01c 0.060±0.007e 0.214±0.02a 0.130±0.02c 0.222±0.02a 0.168±0.01b 1390 β-Cubebene 32
 4.894±0.42d 6.117±0.49c 6.083±0.41c 7.520±0.30b 7.245±0.25b 7.970±0.18a 7.877±0.21a 1392 β-Elemene 33
 ------------ 0.092±0.009d 0.078±0.008d 0.339±0.04a 0.253±0.03c 0.256±0.01c 0.288±0.02b 1400 n-Tetradeane 34
 0.330±0.02cd 0.715±0.05a 0.702±0.06a 0.392±0.04b 0.345±0.03c 0.309±0.02d 0.341±0.02c 1405 Methyl eugenol 35
 ------------ 0.072±0.007a 0.051±0.006b 0.072±0.005a 0.051±0.004b 0.076±0.005a 0.053±0.006b 1415 Cis-α-Bergamotene 36
 0.196±0.02e 0.338±0.04d 0.308±0.05d 0.597±0.04a 0.469±0.03c 0.563±0.04b 0.587±0.04ab 1418 (E)-Caryophyllene 37
 ------------ 0.051±0.005d 0.036±0.004e 0.077±0.005a 0.039±0.003e 0.070±0.004b 0.059±0.005c 1428 β-Gurjunene 38
 8.369±0.86d 9.222±0.92c 9.093±0.87c 11.150±1.08b 10.920±1.06b 11.903±1.10a 11.838±1.02a 1436 trans-α-Bergamotene 39
 0.514±0.06d 0.606±0.07c 0.565±0.05c 1.148±0.11a 0.943±0.07b 1.108±0.09a 0.938±0.06b 1438 α-Guaiene 40
 0.063±0.006e 0.233±0.03a 0.186±0.02c 0.207±0.01abc 0.132±0.01d 0.219±0.02ab 0.196±0.01bc 1443 (Z)-β-Farnesene 41
 1.323±0.12e 2.157±0.15d 1.968±0.17d 2.814±0.19b 2.752±0.18c 2.897±0.18a 2.912±0.17a 1453 α-Humulene 42
 0.247±0.01e 0.448±0.05c 0.403±0.04d 0.459±0.05bc 0.392±0.04 0.560±0.04a 0.488±0.03b 1457 (E)-β-Farnesene 43
 0.993±0.11f 1.521±0.17d 1.406±0.14e 1.992±0.12a 1.649±0.09c 1.007±0.07f 1.860±0.08b 1462 Allo-Aromadendrene 44
 4.026±0.47f 6.133±0.60e 6.098±0.64e 7.254±0.55c 7.007±0.52d 7.561±0.41a 7.453±0.19b 1480 Germacrene D 45
 1.901±0.32d 3.197±0.30c 2.913±0.21c 4.195±0.37b 4.071±0.34b 4.534±0.21a 4.474±0.19a 1496 Bicyclogermacrene 46
 0.190±0.01d 0.511±0.04a 0.471±0.04ab 0.451±0.04 0.397±0.05c 0.485±0.03ab 0.467±0.03ab 1498 Trans-β-Guaiene 47
 1.191±0.06e 2.010±0.07d 1.927±0.08d 2.682±0.09b 2.519±0.09c 2.795±0.08a 2.565±0.07c 1508 α-Bulnesene 48
 3.323±0.37f 5.423±0.48de 5.343±0.40e 5.741±0.31c 5.677±0.26cd 6.972±0.16a 6.085±0.15b 1514 γ-Cadinene 49
 0.859±0.07e 1.214±0.13b 1.146±0.10cd 1.150±0.12c 1.097±0.09d 1.281±0.07a 1.228±0.06b 1521 β-Sesquiphellandrene 50
 0.486±0.05e 0.612±0.05d 0.651±0.07d 0.698±0.05bc 0.683±0.07cd 0.748±0.06a 0.731±0.04ab 1524 δ-Cadinene 51
 0.150±0.01e 0.402±0.03d 0.376±0.03d 0.582±0.04a 0.461±0.06c 0.504±0.04b 0.478±0.03bc 1537 α-Cadinene 52
 0.394±0.02f 0.659±0.05e 0.635±0.06e 0.944±0.07b 0.799±0.06d 0.990±0.07a 0.880±0.06c 1564 (E)-Nerolidol 53
 ------------ 0.226±0.01ab 0.197±0.02c 0.223±0.01ab 0.215±0.04bc 0.240±0.02a 0.230±0.01ab 1575 Germacrene D-4-ol 54
 ------------ 0.214±0.02ab 0.182±0.02c 0.215±0.02ab 0.190±0.02c 0.228±0.01a 0.195±0.01bc 1577 Spathulenol 55
 ------------ 0.523±0.05b 0.494±0.04c 0.529±0.05b 0.485±0.04c 0.556±0.05a 0.516±0.04b 1599 n-Hexadecane 56
 2.65±0.20d 3.301±0.22b 3.205±0.19bc 3.510±0.22a 3.055±0.17c 3.566±0.10a 3.680±0.11a 1614 1,10-di-epi-Cubenol 57
 24.679±1.78e 27.520±1.58c 27.402±1.70c 28.510±1.64b 26.620±1.55d 29.062±1.31a 28.737±1.22b 1642 epi-α-Cadinol 58
 1.039±0.10d 1.663±0.09a 1.611±0.09a 1.404±0.10bc 1.391±0.08c 1.461±0.06b 1.399±0.07c 1649 β-Eudesmol 59
 1.353±0.10d 1.588±0.09a 1.574±0.11a 1.421±0.09c 1.409±0.09c 1.508±0.06b 1.456±0.07c 1654 α-Cadinol 60
 0.248±0.01d 0.543±0.03ab 0.544±0.04ab 0.462±0.05c 0.419±0.05c 0.592±0.04a 0.536±0.04b 1685 β-Bisabolol 61

Data are mean ±standard deviation of eight replications. Means followed by the same letter within a row are not significantly different according to Duncan’s 
multiple range test at P< 0.05.

34 V. Tavallali, H. Gholami, O. Espargham

Tab. 1:  Phytochemical profile (%) identified in essential oil of sweet basil supplied with diverse zinc and salicylic acid sources.

 Control Salicylic  Salicylic Zn-EDTA Zn-EDTA n[Zn(SA)2] n[Zn(SA)2] Retention Compound No.
  acid 0.2% acid 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% Index 

 ----------- 0.422±0.05a 0.377±0.03b 0.238±0.02cd 0.212±0.01d  0.251±0.02c 0.258±0.07c 932 α-Pinene 1
 ----------- 0.631±0.07a 0.580±0.06b 0.583±0.06b 0.571±0.05b 0.602±0.04b 0.576±0.03b 972 Sabinene 2
 ------------ 1.167±0.27a 1.084±0.23a 0.271±0.03b 0.224±0.02c 0.208±0.01c 0.286±0.04b 976 β-Pinene 3
 ------------ 3.224±0.59a 3.110±0.52a 0.416±0.03d 0.508±0.04b 0.510±0.03b 0.469±0.02c 990 Myrcene 4
 3.357±0.43a 0.966±0.07b 0.884±0.07c 0.611±0.05d 3.587±0.45a 0.425±0.03e 0.606±0.04d 999 n-Decane 5
 ------------ 0.127±0.02b 0.158±0.03a 0.121±0.03bc 0.091±0.006d 0.132±0.01ab 0.105±0.02cd 1005 α-Phellandrene 6
 ------------ 0.167±0.01a 0.092±0.007cd 0.102±0.01bc 0.069±0.005e 0.115±0.02b 0.081±0.007de 1016 α-Terpinene 7
 ------------ 0.029±0.004d 0.015±0.002e 0.082±0.005b 0.058±0.006c 0.093±0.007a 0.048±0.003c 1024 p-Cymene 8
 0.289±0.02b 0.796±0.07a 0.754±0.06a 0.142±0.02cd 0.127±0.02d 0.150±0.01c 0.134±0.01d 1028 Limonene 9
 3.463±0.66a 1.121±0.31b 1.074±0.20b 0.602±0.05c 3.523±0.50a 0.614±0.05c 1.088±0.11b 1030 1,8-Cineole 10
 0.397±0.04a 0.125±0.01c 0.101±0.01d 0.145±0.03bc 0.126±0.02c 0.153±0.01b 0.137±0.02bc 1036 (Z)-β-Ocimene 11
 ----------- 0.039±0.004d 0.018±0.002e 0.085±0.006ab 0.062±0.004c 0.094±0.006a 0.075±0.003b 1041 Benzene acetaldehyde 12
 ------------ 0.602±0.07a 0.581±0.05ab 0.561±0.04ab 0.549±0.05b 0.567±0.04ab 0.566±0.03ab 1046 (E)-β-Ocimene 13
 ------------ 0.126±0.02b 0.118±0.02b 0.142±0.02a 0.128±0.01b 0.123±0.01b 0.139±0.01a 1057 γ-Terpinene 14
 ----------- 0.163±0.03a 0.150±0.02ab 0.145±0.03b 0.137±0.02b 0.120±0.01c 0.151±0. 01ab 1066 cis-Sabinene hydrate 15
 ----------- 0.371±0.04a 0.324±0.03bc 0.319±0.04bc 0.281±0.03d 0.332±0.02b 0.309±0.02c 1088 Terpinolene 16
 10.850±1.89a 5.733±0.51b 5.696±0.45b 0.593±0.05c 0.584±0.06c 0.516±0.04d 0.590±0.04c 1099 Linalool 17
 ------------ 0.136±0.02a 0.129±0.02a 0.072±0.007b 0.061±0.004c 0.079±0.005b 0.062±0.004c 1112 1-Octen-3-yl acetate 18
 ------------ 0.089±0.009d 0.058±0.006e 0.119±0.01ab 0.102±0.03c 0.128±0.01a 0.114±0.01b 1144 Camphor 19
 ------------ 0.220±0.02a 0.190±0.03b 0.161±0.02c 0.132±0.02d 0.198±0.02b 0.170±0.02c 1166 δ-Terpineol 20
 ------------ 0.097±0.007a 0.077±0.005b 0.076±0.006b 0.066±0.006c 0.097±0.007a 0.090±0.002a 1177 Terpinen-4-ol 21
 0.483±0.05f 1.360±0.18b 2.110±0.26a 0.703±0.05d 0.682±0.05de 0.664±0.04e 0.761±0.04c 1190 α-Terpineol 22
 0.783±0.07a 0.203±0.04e 0.177±0.03e 0.690±0.06b 0.512±0.04c 0.414±0.03d 0.565±0.03c 1199 n-Dodecane 23
 0.965±0.07a 0.821±0.08b 0.798±0.07b 0.589±0.06c 0.346±0.04d 0.604±0.05c 0.605±0.04c 1212 Octanol acetate 24
 0.248±0.01a 0.098±0.009c 0.088±0.007c 0.195±0.01b 0.101±0.009c 0.199±0.02b 0.250±0.02a 1222 Trans-Carveol 25
 ------------ 0.129±0.02b 0.108±0.02b 0.791±0.06a 0.753±0.06a 0.043±0.003c 0.036±0.003c 1256 Linalyl acetate 26
 6.657±1.03a 1.843±0.28d 2.644±0.36b 1.692±0.23 2.395±0.18c 1.005±0.08f 1.332±0.12e 1286 Bornyl acetate 27
 0.146±0.01f 0.219±0.03e 0.184±0.03e 0.562±0.05a 0.365±0.03d 0.497±0.03b 0.444±0.03c 1337 δ-Elemene 28
 0.095±0.007c 0.224±0.03a 0.199±0.04a 0.154±0.02b 0.135±0.02b 0.135±0.01b 0.146±0.01b 1349 α-Terpinyl acetate 29
 12.704±1.77a 1.140±0.21e 2.288±0.27b 1.711±0.12c 1.389±0.09d 0.403±0.03g 0.741±0.05f 1358 Eugenol 30
 0.056±0.006d 0.121±0.01b 0.091±0.008c 0.314±0.04a 0.291±0.04a 0.292±0.02a 0.297±0.02a 1375 α-Copaene 31
 0.084±0.009d 0.130±0.01c 0.060±0.007e 0.214±0.02a 0.130±0.02c 0.222±0.02a 0.168±0.01b 1390 β-Cubebene 32
 4.894±0.42d 6.117±0.49c 6.083±0.41c 7.520±0.30b 7.245±0.25b 7.970±0.18a 7.877±0.21a 1392 β-Elemene 33
 ------------ 0.092±0.009d 0.078±0.008d 0.339±0.04a 0.253±0.03c 0.256±0.01c 0.288±0.02b 1400 n-Tetradeane 34
 0.330±0.02cd 0.715±0.05a 0.702±0.06a 0.392±0.04b 0.345±0.03c 0.309±0.02d 0.341±0.02c 1405 Methyl eugenol 35
 ------------ 0.072±0.007a 0.051±0.006b 0.072±0.005a 0.051±0.004b 0.076±0.005a 0.053±0.006b 1415 Cis-α-Bergamotene 36
 0.196±0.02e 0.338±0.04d 0.308±0.05d 0.597±0.04a 0.469±0.03c 0.563±0.04b 0.587±0.04ab 1418 (E)-Caryophyllene 37
 ------------ 0.051±0.005d 0.036±0.004e 0.077±0.005a 0.039±0.003e 0.070±0.004b 0.059±0.005c 1428 β-Gurjunene 38
 8.369±0.86d 9.222±0.92c 9.093±0.87c 11.150±1.08b 10.920±1.06b 11.903±1.10a 11.838±1.02a 1436 trans-α-Bergamotene 39
 0.514±0.06d 0.606±0.07c 0.565±0.05c 1.148±0.11a 0.943±0.07b 1.108±0.09a 0.938±0.06b 1438 α-Guaiene 40
 0.063±0.006e 0.233±0.03a 0.186±0.02c 0.207±0.01abc 0.132±0.01d 0.219±0.02ab 0.196±0.01bc 1443 (Z)-β-Farnesene 41
 1.323±0.12e 2.157±0.15d 1.968±0.17d 2.814±0.19b 2.752±0.18c 2.897±0.18a 2.912±0.17a 1453 α-Humulene 42
 0.247±0.01e 0.448±0.05c 0.403±0.04d 0.459±0.05bc 0.392±0.04 0.560±0.04a 0.488±0.03b 1457 (E)-β-Farnesene 43
 0.993±0.11f 1.521±0.17d 1.406±0.14e 1.992±0.12a 1.649±0.09c 1.007±0.07f 1.860±0.08b 1462 Allo-Aromadendrene 44
 4.026±0.47f 6.133±0.60e 6.098±0.64e 7.254±0.55c 7.007±0.52d 7.561±0.41a 7.453±0.19b 1480 Germacrene D 45
 1.901±0.32d 3.197±0.30c 2.913±0.21c 4.195±0.37b 4.071±0.34b 4.534±0.21a 4.474±0.19a 1496 Bicyclogermacrene 46
 0.190±0.01d 0.511±0.04a 0.471±0.04ab 0.451±0.04 0.397±0.05c 0.485±0.03ab 0.467±0.03ab 1498 Trans-β-Guaiene 47
 1.191±0.06e 2.010±0.07d 1.927±0.08d 2.682±0.09b 2.519±0.09c 2.795±0.08a 2.565±0.07c 1508 α-Bulnesene 48
 3.323±0.37f 5.423±0.48de 5.343±0.40e 5.741±0.31c 5.677±0.26cd 6.972±0.16a 6.085±0.15b 1514 γ-Cadinene 49
 0.859±0.07e 1.214±0.13b 1.146±0.10cd 1.150±0.12c 1.097±0.09d 1.281±0.07a 1.228±0.06b 1521 β-Sesquiphellandrene 50
 0.486±0.05e 0.612±0.05d 0.651±0.07d 0.698±0.05bc 0.683±0.07cd 0.748±0.06a 0.731±0.04ab 1524 δ-Cadinene 51
 0.150±0.01e 0.402±0.03d 0.376±0.03d 0.582±0.04a 0.461±0.06c 0.504±0.04b 0.478±0.03bc 1537 α-Cadinene 52
 0.394±0.02f 0.659±0.05e 0.635±0.06e 0.944±0.07b 0.799±0.06d 0.990±0.07a 0.880±0.06c 1564 (E)-Nerolidol 53
 ------------ 0.226±0.01ab 0.197±0.02c 0.223±0.01ab 0.215±0.04bc 0.240±0.02a 0.230±0.01ab 1575 Germacrene D-4-ol 54
 ------------ 0.214±0.02ab 0.182±0.02c 0.215±0.02ab 0.190±0.02c 0.228±0.01a 0.195±0.01bc 1577 Spathulenol 55
 ------------ 0.523±0.05b 0.494±0.04c 0.529±0.05b 0.485±0.04c 0.556±0.05a 0.516±0.04b 1599 n-Hexadecane 56
 2.65±0.20d 3.301±0.22b 3.205±0.19bc 3.510±0.22a 3.055±0.17c 3.566±0.10a 3.680±0.11a 1614 1,10-di-epi-Cubenol 57
 24.679±1.78e 27.520±1.58c 27.402±1.70c 28.510±1.64b 26.620±1.55d 29.062±1.31a 28.737±1.22b 1642 epi-α-Cadinol 58
 1.039±0.10d 1.663±0.09a 1.611±0.09a 1.404±0.10bc 1.391±0.08c 1.461±0.06b 1.399±0.07c 1649 β-Eudesmol 59
 1.353±0.10d 1.588±0.09a 1.574±0.11a 1.421±0.09c 1.409±0.09c 1.508±0.06b 1.456±0.07c 1654 α-Cadinol 60
 0.248±0.01d 0.543±0.03ab 0.544±0.04ab 0.462±0.05c 0.419±0.05c 0.592±0.04a 0.536±0.04b 1685 β-Bisabolol 61

Data are mean ±standard deviation of eight replications. Means followed by the same letter within a row are not significantly different according to Duncan’s 
multiple range test at P< 0.05.

34 V. Tavallali, H. Gholami, O. Espargham

Tab. 1:  Phytochemical profile (%) identified in essential oil of sweet basil supplied with diverse zinc and salicylic acid sources.

 Control Salicylic  Salicylic Zn-EDTA Zn-EDTA n[Zn(SA)2] n[Zn(SA)2] Retention Compound No.
  acid 0.2% acid 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% Index 

 ----------- 0.422±0.05a 0.377±0.03b 0.238±0.02cd 0.212±0.01d  0.251±0.02c 0.258±0.07c 932 α-Pinene 1
 ----------- 0.631±0.07a 0.580±0.06b 0.583±0.06b 0.571±0.05b 0.602±0.04b 0.576±0.03b 972 Sabinene 2
 ------------ 1.167±0.27a 1.084±0.23a 0.271±0.03b 0.224±0.02c 0.208±0.01c 0.286±0.04b 976 β-Pinene 3
 ------------ 3.224±0.59a 3.110±0.52a 0.416±0.03d 0.508±0.04b 0.510±0.03b 0.469±0.02c 990 Myrcene 4
 3.357±0.43a 0.966±0.07b 0.884±0.07c 0.611±0.05d 3.587±0.45a 0.425±0.03e 0.606±0.04d 999 n-Decane 5
 ------------ 0.127±0.02b 0.158±0.03a 0.121±0.03bc 0.091±0.006d 0.132±0.01ab 0.105±0.02cd 1005 α-Phellandrene 6
 ------------ 0.167±0.01a 0.092±0.007cd 0.102±0.01bc 0.069±0.005e 0.115±0.02b 0.081±0.007de 1016 α-Terpinene 7
 ------------ 0.029±0.004d 0.015±0.002e 0.082±0.005b 0.058±0.006c 0.093±0.007a 0.048±0.003c 1024 p-Cymene 8
 0.289±0.02b 0.796±0.07a 0.754±0.06a 0.142±0.02cd 0.127±0.02d 0.150±0.01c 0.134±0.01d 1028 Limonene 9
 3.463±0.66a 1.121±0.31b 1.074±0.20b 0.602±0.05c 3.523±0.50a 0.614±0.05c 1.088±0.11b 1030 1,8-Cineole 10
 0.397±0.04a 0.125±0.01c 0.101±0.01d 0.145±0.03bc 0.126±0.02c 0.153±0.01b 0.137±0.02bc 1036 (Z)-β-Ocimene 11
 ----------- 0.039±0.004d 0.018±0.002e 0.085±0.006ab 0.062±0.004c 0.094±0.006a 0.075±0.003b 1041 Benzene acetaldehyde 12
 ------------ 0.602±0.07a 0.581±0.05ab 0.561±0.04ab 0.549±0.05b 0.567±0.04ab 0.566±0.03ab 1046 (E)-β-Ocimene 13
 ------------ 0.126±0.02b 0.118±0.02b 0.142±0.02a 0.128±0.01b 0.123±0.01b 0.139±0.01a 1057 γ-Terpinene 14
 ----------- 0.163±0.03a 0.150±0.02ab 0.145±0.03b 0.137±0.02b 0.120±0.01c 0.151±0. 01ab 1066 cis-Sabinene hydrate 15
 ----------- 0.371±0.04a 0.324±0.03bc 0.319±0.04bc 0.281±0.03d 0.332±0.02b 0.309±0.02c 1088 Terpinolene 16
 10.850±1.89a 5.733±0.51b 5.696±0.45b 0.593±0.05c 0.584±0.06c 0.516±0.04d 0.590±0.04c 1099 Linalool 17
 ------------ 0.136±0.02a 0.129±0.02a 0.072±0.007b 0.061±0.004c 0.079±0.005b 0.062±0.004c 1112 1-Octen-3-yl acetate 18
 ------------ 0.089±0.009d 0.058±0.006e 0.119±0.01ab 0.102±0.03c 0.128±0.01a 0.114±0.01b 1144 Camphor 19
 ------------ 0.220±0.02a 0.190±0.03b 0.161±0.02c 0.132±0.02d 0.198±0.02b 0.170±0.02c 1166 δ-Terpineol 20
 ------------ 0.097±0.007a 0.077±0.005b 0.076±0.006b 0.066±0.006c 0.097±0.007a 0.090±0.002a 1177 Terpinen-4-ol 21
 0.483±0.05f 1.360±0.18b 2.110±0.26a 0.703±0.05d 0.682±0.05de 0.664±0.04e 0.761±0.04c 1190 α-Terpineol 22
 0.783±0.07a 0.203±0.04e 0.177±0.03e 0.690±0.06b 0.512±0.04c 0.414±0.03d 0.565±0.03c 1199 n-Dodecane 23
 0.965±0.07a 0.821±0.08b 0.798±0.07b 0.589±0.06c 0.346±0.04d 0.604±0.05c 0.605±0.04c 1212 Octanol acetate 24
 0.248±0.01a 0.098±0.009c 0.088±0.007c 0.195±0.01b 0.101±0.009c 0.199±0.02b 0.250±0.02a 1222 Trans-Carveol 25
 ------------ 0.129±0.02b 0.108±0.02b 0.791±0.06a 0.753±0.06a 0.043±0.003c 0.036±0.003c 1256 Linalyl acetate 26
 6.657±1.03a 1.843±0.28d 2.644±0.36b 1.692±0.23 2.395±0.18c 1.005±0.08f 1.332±0.12e 1286 Bornyl acetate 27
 0.146±0.01f 0.219±0.03e 0.184±0.03e 0.562±0.05a 0.365±0.03d 0.497±0.03b 0.444±0.03c 1337 δ-Elemene 28
 0.095±0.007c 0.224±0.03a 0.199±0.04a 0.154±0.02b 0.135±0.02b 0.135±0.01b 0.146±0.01b 1349 α-Terpinyl acetate 29
 12.704±1.77a 1.140±0.21e 2.288±0.27b 1.711±0.12c 1.389±0.09d 0.403±0.03g 0.741±0.05f 1358 Eugenol 30
 0.056±0.006d 0.121±0.01b 0.091±0.008c 0.314±0.04a 0.291±0.04a 0.292±0.02a 0.297±0.02a 1375 α-Copaene 31
 0.084±0.009d 0.130±0.01c 0.060±0.007e 0.214±0.02a 0.130±0.02c 0.222±0.02a 0.168±0.01b 1390 β-Cubebene 32
 4.894±0.42d 6.117±0.49c 6.083±0.41c 7.520±0.30b 7.245±0.25b 7.970±0.18a 7.877±0.21a 1392 β-Elemene 33
 ------------ 0.092±0.009d 0.078±0.008d 0.339±0.04a 0.253±0.03c 0.256±0.01c 0.288±0.02b 1400 n-Tetradeane 34
 0.330±0.02cd 0.715±0.05a 0.702±0.06a 0.392±0.04b 0.345±0.03c 0.309±0.02d 0.341±0.02c 1405 Methyl eugenol 35
 ------------ 0.072±0.007a 0.051±0.006b 0.072±0.005a 0.051±0.004b 0.076±0.005a 0.053±0.006b 1415 Cis-α-Bergamotene 36
 0.196±0.02e 0.338±0.04d 0.308±0.05d 0.597±0.04a 0.469±0.03c 0.563±0.04b 0.587±0.04ab 1418 (E)-Caryophyllene 37
 ------------ 0.051±0.005d 0.036±0.004e 0.077±0.005a 0.039±0.003e 0.070±0.004b 0.059±0.005c 1428 β-Gurjunene 38
 8.369±0.86d 9.222±0.92c 9.093±0.87c 11.150±1.08b 10.920±1.06b 11.903±1.10a 11.838±1.02a 1436 trans-α-Bergamotene 39
 0.514±0.06d 0.606±0.07c 0.565±0.05c 1.148±0.11a 0.943±0.07b 1.108±0.09a 0.938±0.06b 1438 α-Guaiene 40
 0.063±0.006e 0.233±0.03a 0.186±0.02c 0.207±0.01abc 0.132±0.01d 0.219±0.02ab 0.196±0.01bc 1443 (Z)-β-Farnesene 41
 1.323±0.12e 2.157±0.15d 1.968±0.17d 2.814±0.19b 2.752±0.18c 2.897±0.18a 2.912±0.17a 1453 α-Humulene 42
 0.247±0.01e 0.448±0.05c 0.403±0.04d 0.459±0.05bc 0.392±0.04 0.560±0.04a 0.488±0.03b 1457 (E)-β-Farnesene 43
 0.993±0.11f 1.521±0.17d 1.406±0.14e 1.992±0.12a 1.649±0.09c 1.007±0.07f 1.860±0.08b 1462 Allo-Aromadendrene 44
 4.026±0.47f 6.133±0.60e 6.098±0.64e 7.254±0.55c 7.007±0.52d 7.561±0.41a 7.453±0.19b 1480 Germacrene D 45
 1.901±0.32d 3.197±0.30c 2.913±0.21c 4.195±0.37b 4.071±0.34b 4.534±0.21a 4.474±0.19a 1496 Bicyclogermacrene 46
 0.190±0.01d 0.511±0.04a 0.471±0.04ab 0.451±0.04 0.397±0.05c 0.485±0.03ab 0.467±0.03ab 1498 Trans-β-Guaiene 47
 1.191±0.06e 2.010±0.07d 1.927±0.08d 2.682±0.09b 2.519±0.09c 2.795±0.08a 2.565±0.07c 1508 α-Bulnesene 48
 3.323±0.37f 5.423±0.48de 5.343±0.40e 5.741±0.31c 5.677±0.26cd 6.972±0.16a 6.085±0.15b 1514 γ-Cadinene 49
 0.859±0.07e 1.214±0.13b 1.146±0.10cd 1.150±0.12c 1.097±0.09d 1.281±0.07a 1.228±0.06b 1521 β-Sesquiphellandrene 50
 0.486±0.05e 0.612±0.05d 0.651±0.07d 0.698±0.05bc 0.683±0.07cd 0.748±0.06a 0.731±0.04ab 1524 δ-Cadinene 51
 0.150±0.01e 0.402±0.03d 0.376±0.03d 0.582±0.04a 0.461±0.06c 0.504±0.04b 0.478±0.03bc 1537 α-Cadinene 52
 0.394±0.02f 0.659±0.05e 0.635±0.06e 0.944±0.07b 0.799±0.06d 0.990±0.07a 0.880±0.06c 1564 (E)-Nerolidol 53
 ------------ 0.226±0.01ab 0.197±0.02c 0.223±0.01ab 0.215±0.04bc 0.240±0.02a 0.230±0.01ab 1575 Germacrene D-4-ol 54
 ------------ 0.214±0.02ab 0.182±0.02c 0.215±0.02ab 0.190±0.02c 0.228±0.01a 0.195±0.01bc 1577 Spathulenol 55
 ------------ 0.523±0.05b 0.494±0.04c 0.529±0.05b 0.485±0.04c 0.556±0.05a 0.516±0.04b 1599 n-Hexadecane 56
 2.65±0.20d 3.301±0.22b 3.205±0.19bc 3.510±0.22a 3.055±0.17c 3.566±0.10a 3.680±0.11a 1614 1,10-di-epi-Cubenol 57
 24.679±1.78e 27.520±1.58c 27.402±1.70c 28.510±1.64b 26.620±1.55d 29.062±1.31a 28.737±1.22b 1642 epi-α-Cadinol 58
 1.039±0.10d 1.663±0.09a 1.611±0.09a 1.404±0.10bc 1.391±0.08c 1.461±0.06b 1.399±0.07c 1649 β-Eudesmol 59
 1.353±0.10d 1.588±0.09a 1.574±0.11a 1.421±0.09c 1.409±0.09c 1.508±0.06b 1.456±0.07c 1654 α-Cadinol 60
 0.248±0.01d 0.543±0.03ab 0.544±0.04ab 0.462±0.05c 0.419±0.05c 0.592±0.04a 0.536±0.04b 1685 β-Bisabolol 61

Data are mean ±standard deviation of eight replications. Means followed by the same letter within a row are not significantly different according to Duncan’s 
multiple range test at P< 0.05.

34 V. Tavallali, H. Gholami, O. Espargham

Tab. 1:  Phytochemical profile (%) identified in essential oil of sweet basil supplied with diverse zinc and salicylic acid sources.

 Control Salicylic  Salicylic Zn-EDTA Zn-EDTA n[Zn(SA)2] n[Zn(SA)2] Retention Compound No.
  acid 0.2% acid 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% Index 

 ----------- 0.422±0.05a 0.377±0.03b 0.238±0.02cd 0.212±0.01d  0.251±0.02c 0.258±0.07c 932 α-Pinene 1
 ----------- 0.631±0.07a 0.580±0.06b 0.583±0.06b 0.571±0.05b 0.602±0.04b 0.576±0.03b 972 Sabinene 2
 ------------ 1.167±0.27a 1.084±0.23a 0.271±0.03b 0.224±0.02c 0.208±0.01c 0.286±0.04b 976 β-Pinene 3
 ------------ 3.224±0.59a 3.110±0.52a 0.416±0.03d 0.508±0.04b 0.510±0.03b 0.469±0.02c 990 Myrcene 4
 3.357±0.43a 0.966±0.07b 0.884±0.07c 0.611±0.05d 3.587±0.45a 0.425±0.03e 0.606±0.04d 999 n-Decane 5
 ------------ 0.127±0.02b 0.158±0.03a 0.121±0.03bc 0.091±0.006d 0.132±0.01ab 0.105±0.02cd 1005 α-Phellandrene 6
 ------------ 0.167±0.01a 0.092±0.007cd 0.102±0.01bc 0.069±0.005e 0.115±0.02b 0.081±0.007de 1016 α-Terpinene 7
 ------------ 0.029±0.004d 0.015±0.002e 0.082±0.005b 0.058±0.006c 0.093±0.007a 0.048±0.003c 1024 p-Cymene 8
 0.289±0.02b 0.796±0.07a 0.754±0.06a 0.142±0.02cd 0.127±0.02d 0.150±0.01c 0.134±0.01d 1028 Limonene 9
 3.463±0.66a 1.121±0.31b 1.074±0.20b 0.602±0.05c 3.523±0.50a 0.614±0.05c 1.088±0.11b 1030 1,8-Cineole 10
 0.397±0.04a 0.125±0.01c 0.101±0.01d 0.145±0.03bc 0.126±0.02c 0.153±0.01b 0.137±0.02bc 1036 (Z)-β-Ocimene 11
 ----------- 0.039±0.004d 0.018±0.002e 0.085±0.006ab 0.062±0.004c 0.094±0.006a 0.075±0.003b 1041 Benzene acetaldehyde 12
 ------------ 0.602±0.07a 0.581±0.05ab 0.561±0.04ab 0.549±0.05b 0.567±0.04ab 0.566±0.03ab 1046 (E)-β-Ocimene 13
 ------------ 0.126±0.02b 0.118±0.02b 0.142±0.02a 0.128±0.01b 0.123±0.01b 0.139±0.01a 1057 γ-Terpinene 14
 ----------- 0.163±0.03a 0.150±0.02ab 0.145±0.03b 0.137±0.02b 0.120±0.01c 0.151±0. 01ab 1066 cis-Sabinene hydrate 15
 ----------- 0.371±0.04a 0.324±0.03bc 0.319±0.04bc 0.281±0.03d 0.332±0.02b 0.309±0.02c 1088 Terpinolene 16
 10.850±1.89a 5.733±0.51b 5.696±0.45b 0.593±0.05c 0.584±0.06c 0.516±0.04d 0.590±0.04c 1099 Linalool 17
 ------------ 0.136±0.02a 0.129±0.02a 0.072±0.007b 0.061±0.004c 0.079±0.005b 0.062±0.004c 1112 1-Octen-3-yl acetate 18
 ------------ 0.089±0.009d 0.058±0.006e 0.119±0.01ab 0.102±0.03c 0.128±0.01a 0.114±0.01b 1144 Camphor 19
 ------------ 0.220±0.02a 0.190±0.03b 0.161±0.02c 0.132±0.02d 0.198±0.02b 0.170±0.02c 1166 δ-Terpineol 20
 ------------ 0.097±0.007a 0.077±0.005b 0.076±0.006b 0.066±0.006c 0.097±0.007a 0.090±0.002a 1177 Terpinen-4-ol 21
 0.483±0.05f 1.360±0.18b 2.110±0.26a 0.703±0.05d 0.682±0.05de 0.664±0.04e 0.761±0.04c 1190 α-Terpineol 22
 0.783±0.07a 0.203±0.04e 0.177±0.03e 0.690±0.06b 0.512±0.04c 0.414±0.03d 0.565±0.03c 1199 n-Dodecane 23
 0.965±0.07a 0.821±0.08b 0.798±0.07b 0.589±0.06c 0.346±0.04d 0.604±0.05c 0.605±0.04c 1212 Octanol acetate 24
 0.248±0.01a 0.098±0.009c 0.088±0.007c 0.195±0.01b 0.101±0.009c 0.199±0.02b 0.250±0.02a 1222 Trans-Carveol 25
 ------------ 0.129±0.02b 0.108±0.02b 0.791±0.06a 0.753±0.06a 0.043±0.003c 0.036±0.003c 1256 Linalyl acetate 26
 6.657±1.03a 1.843±0.28d 2.644±0.36b 1.692±0.23 2.395±0.18c 1.005±0.08f 1.332±0.12e 1286 Bornyl acetate 27
 0.146±0.01f 0.219±0.03e 0.184±0.03e 0.562±0.05a 0.365±0.03d 0.497±0.03b 0.444±0.03c 1337 δ-Elemene 28
 0.095±0.007c 0.224±0.03a 0.199±0.04a 0.154±0.02b 0.135±0.02b 0.135±0.01b 0.146±0.01b 1349 α-Terpinyl acetate 29
 12.704±1.77a 1.140±0.21e 2.288±0.27b 1.711±0.12c 1.389±0.09d 0.403±0.03g 0.741±0.05f 1358 Eugenol 30
 0.056±0.006d 0.121±0.01b 0.091±0.008c 0.314±0.04a 0.291±0.04a 0.292±0.02a 0.297±0.02a 1375 α-Copaene 31
 0.084±0.009d 0.130±0.01c 0.060±0.007e 0.214±0.02a 0.130±0.02c 0.222±0.02a 0.168±0.01b 1390 β-Cubebene 32
 4.894±0.42d 6.117±0.49c 6.083±0.41c 7.520±0.30b 7.245±0.25b 7.970±0.18a 7.877±0.21a 1392 β-Elemene 33
 ------------ 0.092±0.009d 0.078±0.008d 0.339±0.04a 0.253±0.03c 0.256±0.01c 0.288±0.02b 1400 n-Tetradeane 34
 0.330±0.02cd 0.715±0.05a 0.702±0.06a 0.392±0.04b 0.345±0.03c 0.309±0.02d 0.341±0.02c 1405 Methyl eugenol 35
 ------------ 0.072±0.007a 0.051±0.006b 0.072±0.005a 0.051±0.004b 0.076±0.005a 0.053±0.006b 1415 Cis-α-Bergamotene 36
 0.196±0.02e 0.338±0.04d 0.308±0.05d 0.597±0.04a 0.469±0.03c 0.563±0.04b 0.587±0.04ab 1418 (E)-Caryophyllene 37
 ------------ 0.051±0.005d 0.036±0.004e 0.077±0.005a 0.039±0.003e 0.070±0.004b 0.059±0.005c 1428 β-Gurjunene 38
 8.369±0.86d 9.222±0.92c 9.093±0.87c 11.150±1.08b 10.920±1.06b 11.903±1.10a 11.838±1.02a 1436 trans-α-Bergamotene 39
 0.514±0.06d 0.606±0.07c 0.565±0.05c 1.148±0.11a 0.943±0.07b 1.108±0.09a 0.938±0.06b 1438 α-Guaiene 40
 0.063±0.006e 0.233±0.03a 0.186±0.02c 0.207±0.01abc 0.132±0.01d 0.219±0.02ab 0.196±0.01bc 1443 (Z)-β-Farnesene 41
 1.323±0.12e 2.157±0.15d 1.968±0.17d 2.814±0.19b 2.752±0.18c 2.897±0.18a 2.912±0.17a 1453 α-Humulene 42
 0.247±0.01e 0.448±0.05c 0.403±0.04d 0.459±0.05bc 0.392±0.04 0.560±0.04a 0.488±0.03b 1457 (E)-β-Farnesene 43
 0.993±0.11f 1.521±0.17d 1.406±0.14e 1.992±0.12a 1.649±0.09c 1.007±0.07f 1.860±0.08b 1462 Allo-Aromadendrene 44
 4.026±0.47f 6.133±0.60e 6.098±0.64e 7.254±0.55c 7.007±0.52d 7.561±0.41a 7.453±0.19b 1480 Germacrene D 45
 1.901±0.32d 3.197±0.30c 2.913±0.21c 4.195±0.37b 4.071±0.34b 4.534±0.21a 4.474±0.19a 1496 Bicyclogermacrene 46
 0.190±0.01d 0.511±0.04a 0.471±0.04ab 0.451±0.04 0.397±0.05c 0.485±0.03ab 0.467±0.03ab 1498 Trans-β-Guaiene 47
 1.191±0.06e 2.010±0.07d 1.927±0.08d 2.682±0.09b 2.519±0.09c 2.795±0.08a 2.565±0.07c 1508 α-Bulnesene 48
 3.323±0.37f 5.423±0.48de 5.343±0.40e 5.741±0.31c 5.677±0.26cd 6.972±0.16a 6.085±0.15b 1514 γ-Cadinene 49
 0.859±0.07e 1.214±0.13b 1.146±0.10cd 1.150±0.12c 1.097±0.09d 1.281±0.07a 1.228±0.06b 1521 β-Sesquiphellandrene 50
 0.486±0.05e 0.612±0.05d 0.651±0.07d 0.698±0.05bc 0.683±0.07cd 0.748±0.06a 0.731±0.04ab 1524 δ-Cadinene 51
 0.150±0.01e 0.402±0.03d 0.376±0.03d 0.582±0.04a 0.461±0.06c 0.504±0.04b 0.478±0.03bc 1537 α-Cadinene 52
 0.394±0.02f 0.659±0.05e 0.635±0.06e 0.944±0.07b 0.799±0.06d 0.990±0.07a 0.880±0.06c 1564 (E)-Nerolidol 53
 ------------ 0.226±0.01ab 0.197±0.02c 0.223±0.01ab 0.215±0.04bc 0.240±0.02a 0.230±0.01ab 1575 Germacrene D-4-ol 54
 ------------ 0.214±0.02ab 0.182±0.02c 0.215±0.02ab 0.190±0.02c 0.228±0.01a 0.195±0.01bc 1577 Spathulenol 55
 ------------ 0.523±0.05b 0.494±0.04c 0.529±0.05b 0.485±0.04c 0.556±0.05a 0.516±0.04b 1599 n-Hexadecane 56
 2.65±0.20d 3.301±0.22b 3.205±0.19bc 3.510±0.22a 3.055±0.17c 3.566±0.10a 3.680±0.11a 1614 1,10-di-epi-Cubenol 57
 24.679±1.78e 27.520±1.58c 27.402±1.70c 28.510±1.64b 26.620±1.55d 29.062±1.31a 28.737±1.22b 1642 epi-α-Cadinol 58
 1.039±0.10d 1.663±0.09a 1.611±0.09a 1.404±0.10bc 1.391±0.08c 1.461±0.06b 1.399±0.07c 1649 β-Eudesmol 59
 1.353±0.10d 1.588±0.09a 1.574±0.11a 1.421±0.09c 1.409±0.09c 1.508±0.06b 1.456±0.07c 1654 α-Cadinol 60
 0.248±0.01d 0.543±0.03ab 0.544±0.04ab 0.462±0.05c 0.419±0.05c 0.592±0.04a 0.536±0.04b 1685 β-Bisabolol 61

Data are mean ±standard deviation of eight replications. Means followed by the same letter within a row are not significantly different according to Duncan’s 
multiple range test at P< 0.05.

34 V. Tavallali, H. Gholami, O. Espargham

Tab. 1:  Phytochemical profile (%) identified in essential oil of sweet basil supplied with diverse zinc and salicylic acid sources.

 Control Salicylic  Salicylic Zn-EDTA Zn-EDTA n[Zn(SA)2] n[Zn(SA)2] Retention Compound No.
  acid 0.2% acid 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% Index 

 ----------- 0.422±0.05a 0.377±0.03b 0.238±0.02cd 0.212±0.01d  0.251±0.02c 0.258±0.07c 932 α-Pinene 1
 ----------- 0.631±0.07a 0.580±0.06b 0.583±0.06b 0.571±0.05b 0.602±0.04b 0.576±0.03b 972 Sabinene 2
 ------------ 1.167±0.27a 1.084±0.23a 0.271±0.03b 0.224±0.02c 0.208±0.01c 0.286±0.04b 976 β-Pinene 3
 ------------ 3.224±0.59a 3.110±0.52a 0.416±0.03d 0.508±0.04b 0.510±0.03b 0.469±0.02c 990 Myrcene 4
 3.357±0.43a 0.966±0.07b 0.884±0.07c 0.611±0.05d 3.587±0.45a 0.425±0.03e 0.606±0.04d 999 n-Decane 5
 ------------ 0.127±0.02b 0.158±0.03a 0.121±0.03bc 0.091±0.006d 0.132±0.01ab 0.105±0.02cd 1005 α-Phellandrene 6
 ------------ 0.167±0.01a 0.092±0.007cd 0.102±0.01bc 0.069±0.005e 0.115±0.02b 0.081±0.007de 1016 α-Terpinene 7
 ------------ 0.029±0.004d 0.015±0.002e 0.082±0.005b 0.058±0.006c 0.093±0.007a 0.048±0.003c 1024 p-Cymene 8
 0.289±0.02b 0.796±0.07a 0.754±0.06a 0.142±0.02cd 0.127±0.02d 0.150±0.01c 0.134±0.01d 1028 Limonene 9
 3.463±0.66a 1.121±0.31b 1.074±0.20b 0.602±0.05c 3.523±0.50a 0.614±0.05c 1.088±0.11b 1030 1,8-Cineole 10
 0.397±0.04a 0.125±0.01c 0.101±0.01d 0.145±0.03bc 0.126±0.02c 0.153±0.01b 0.137±0.02bc 1036 (Z)-β-Ocimene 11
 ----------- 0.039±0.004d 0.018±0.002e 0.085±0.006ab 0.062±0.004c 0.094±0.006a 0.075±0.003b 1041 Benzene acetaldehyde 12
 ------------ 0.602±0.07a 0.581±0.05ab 0.561±0.04ab 0.549±0.05b 0.567±0.04ab 0.566±0.03ab 1046 (E)-β-Ocimene 13
 ------------ 0.126±0.02b 0.118±0.02b 0.142±0.02a 0.128±0.01b 0.123±0.01b 0.139±0.01a 1057 γ-Terpinene 14
 ----------- 0.163±0.03a 0.150±0.02ab 0.145±0.03b 0.137±0.02b 0.120±0.01c 0.151±0. 01ab 1066 cis-Sabinene hydrate 15
 ----------- 0.371±0.04a 0.324±0.03bc 0.319±0.04bc 0.281±0.03d 0.332±0.02b 0.309±0.02c 1088 Terpinolene 16
 10.850±1.89a 5.733±0.51b 5.696±0.45b 0.593±0.05c 0.584±0.06c 0.516±0.04d 0.590±0.04c 1099 Linalool 17
 ------------ 0.136±0.02a 0.129±0.02a 0.072±0.007b 0.061±0.004c 0.079±0.005b 0.062±0.004c 1112 1-Octen-3-yl acetate 18
 ------------ 0.089±0.009d 0.058±0.006e 0.119±0.01ab 0.102±0.03c 0.128±0.01a 0.114±0.01b 1144 Camphor 19
 ------------ 0.220±0.02a 0.190±0.03b 0.161±0.02c 0.132±0.02d 0.198±0.02b 0.170±0.02c 1166 δ-Terpineol 20
 ------------ 0.097±0.007a 0.077±0.005b 0.076±0.006b 0.066±0.006c 0.097±0.007a 0.090±0.002a 1177 Terpinen-4-ol 21
 0.483±0.05f 1.360±0.18b 2.110±0.26a 0.703±0.05d 0.682±0.05de 0.664±0.04e 0.761±0.04c 1190 α-Terpineol 22
 0.783±0.07a 0.203±0.04e 0.177±0.03e 0.690±0.06b 0.512±0.04c 0.414±0.03d 0.565±0.03c 1199 n-Dodecane 23
 0.965±0.07a 0.821±0.08b 0.798±0.07b 0.589±0.06c 0.346±0.04d 0.604±0.05c 0.605±0.04c 1212 Octanol acetate 24
 0.248±0.01a 0.098±0.009c 0.088±0.007c 0.195±0.01b 0.101±0.009c 0.199±0.02b 0.250±0.02a 1222 Trans-Carveol 25
 ------------ 0.129±0.02b 0.108±0.02b 0.791±0.06a 0.753±0.06a 0.043±0.003c 0.036±0.003c 1256 Linalyl acetate 26
 6.657±1.03a 1.843±0.28d 2.644±0.36b 1.692±0.23 2.395±0.18c 1.005±0.08f 1.332±0.12e 1286 Bornyl acetate 27
 0.146±0.01f 0.219±0.03e 0.184±0.03e 0.562±0.05a 0.365±0.03d 0.497±0.03b 0.444±0.03c 1337 δ-Elemene 28
 0.095±0.007c 0.224±0.03a 0.199±0.04a 0.154±0.02b 0.135±0.02b 0.135±0.01b 0.146±0.01b 1349 α-Terpinyl acetate 29
 12.704±1.77a 1.140±0.21e 2.288±0.27b 1.711±0.12c 1.389±0.09d 0.403±0.03g 0.741±0.05f 1358 Eugenol 30
 0.056±0.006d 0.121±0.01b 0.091±0.008c 0.314±0.04a 0.291±0.04a 0.292±0.02a 0.297±0.02a 1375 α-Copaene 31
 0.084±0.009d 0.130±0.01c 0.060±0.007e 0.214±0.02a 0.130±0.02c 0.222±0.02a 0.168±0.01b 1390 β-Cubebene 32
 4.894±0.42d 6.117±0.49c 6.083±0.41c 7.520±0.30b 7.245±0.25b 7.970±0.18a 7.877±0.21a 1392 β-Elemene 33
 ------------ 0.092±0.009d 0.078±0.008d 0.339±0.04a 0.253±0.03c 0.256±0.01c 0.288±0.02b 1400 n-Tetradeane 34
 0.330±0.02cd 0.715±0.05a 0.702±0.06a 0.392±0.04b 0.345±0.03c 0.309±0.02d 0.341±0.02c 1405 Methyl eugenol 35
 ------------ 0.072±0.007a 0.051±0.006b 0.072±0.005a 0.051±0.004b 0.076±0.005a 0.053±0.006b 1415 Cis-α-Bergamotene 36
 0.196±0.02e 0.338±0.04d 0.308±0.05d 0.597±0.04a 0.469±0.03c 0.563±0.04b 0.587±0.04ab 1418 (E)-Caryophyllene 37
 ------------ 0.051±0.005d 0.036±0.004e 0.077±0.005a 0.039±0.003e 0.070±0.004b 0.059±0.005c 1428 β-Gurjunene 38
 8.369±0.86d 9.222±0.92c 9.093±0.87c 11.150±1.08b 10.920±1.06b 11.903±1.10a 11.838±1.02a 1436 trans-α-Bergamotene 39
 0.514±0.06d 0.606±0.07c 0.565±0.05c 1.148±0.11a 0.943±0.07b 1.108±0.09a 0.938±0.06b 1438 α-Guaiene 40
 0.063±0.006e 0.233±0.03a 0.186±0.02c 0.207±0.01abc 0.132±0.01d 0.219±0.02ab 0.196±0.01bc 1443 (Z)-β-Farnesene 41
 1.323±0.12e 2.157±0.15d 1.968±0.17d 2.814±0.19b 2.752±0.18c 2.897±0.18a 2.912±0.17a 1453 α-Humulene 42
 0.247±0.01e 0.448±0.05c 0.403±0.04d 0.459±0.05bc 0.392±0.04 0.560±0.04a 0.488±0.03b 1457 (E)-β-Farnesene 43
 0.993±0.11f 1.521±0.17d 1.406±0.14e 1.992±0.12a 1.649±0.09c 1.007±0.07f 1.860±0.08b 1462 Allo-Aromadendrene 44
 4.026±0.47f 6.133±0.60e 6.098±0.64e 7.254±0.55c 7.007±0.52d 7.561±0.41a 7.453±0.19b 1480 Germacrene D 45
 1.901±0.32d 3.197±0.30c 2.913±0.21c 4.195±0.37b 4.071±0.34b 4.534±0.21a 4.474±0.19a 1496 Bicyclogermacrene 46
 0.190±0.01d 0.511±0.04a 0.471±0.04ab 0.451±0.04 0.397±0.05c 0.485±0.03ab 0.467±0.03ab 1498 Trans-β-Guaiene 47
 1.191±0.06e 2.010±0.07d 1.927±0.08d 2.682±0.09b 2.519±0.09c 2.795±0.08a 2.565±0.07c 1508 α-Bulnesene 48
 3.323±0.37f 5.423±0.48de 5.343±0.40e 5.741±0.31c 5.677±0.26cd 6.972±0.16a 6.085±0.15b 1514 γ-Cadinene 49
 0.859±0.07e 1.214±0.13b 1.146±0.10cd 1.150±0.12c 1.097±0.09d 1.281±0.07a 1.228±0.06b 1521 β-Sesquiphellandrene 50
 0.486±0.05e 0.612±0.05d 0.651±0.07d 0.698±0.05bc 0.683±0.07cd 0.748±0.06a 0.731±0.04ab 1524 δ-Cadinene 51
 0.150±0.01e 0.402±0.03d 0.376±0.03d 0.582±0.04a 0.461±0.06c 0.504±0.04b 0.478±0.03bc 1537 α-Cadinene 52
 0.394±0.02f 0.659±0.05e 0.635±0.06e 0.944±0.07b 0.799±0.06d 0.990±0.07a 0.880±0.06c 1564 (E)-Nerolidol 53
 ------------ 0.226±0.01ab 0.197±0.02c 0.223±0.01ab 0.215±0.04bc 0.240±0.02a 0.230±0.01ab 1575 Germacrene D-4-ol 54
 ------------ 0.214±0.02ab 0.182±0.02c 0.215±0.02ab 0.190±0.02c 0.228±0.01a 0.195±0.01bc 1577 Spathulenol 55
 ------------ 0.523±0.05b 0.494±0.04c 0.529±0.05b 0.485±0.04c 0.556±0.05a 0.516±0.04b 1599 n-Hexadecane 56
 2.65±0.20d 3.301±0.22b 3.205±0.19bc 3.510±0.22a 3.055±0.17c 3.566±0.10a 3.680±0.11a 1614 1,10-di-epi-Cubenol 57
 24.679±1.78e 27.520±1.58c 27.402±1.70c 28.510±1.64b 26.620±1.55d 29.062±1.31a 28.737±1.22b 1642 epi-α-Cadinol 58
 1.039±0.10d 1.663±0.09a 1.611±0.09a 1.404±0.10bc 1.391±0.08c 1.461±0.06b 1.399±0.07c 1649 β-Eudesmol 59
 1.353±0.10d 1.588±0.09a 1.574±0.11a 1.421±0.09c 1.409±0.09c 1.508±0.06b 1.456±0.07c 1654 α-Cadinol 60
 0.248±0.01d 0.543±0.03ab 0.544±0.04ab 0.462±0.05c 0.419±0.05c 0.592±0.04a 0.536±0.04b 1685 β-Bisabolol 61

Data are mean ±standard deviation of eight replications. Means followed by the same letter within a row are not significantly different according to Duncan’s 
multiple range test at P< 0.05.

34 V. Tavallali, H. Gholami, O. Espargham

Tab. 1:  Phytochemical profile (%) identified in essential oil of sweet basil supplied with diverse zinc and salicylic acid sources.

 Control Salicylic  Salicylic Zn-EDTA Zn-EDTA n[Zn(SA)2] n[Zn(SA)2] Retention Compound No.
  acid 0.2% acid 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% Index 

 ----------- 0.422±0.05a 0.377±0.03b 0.238±0.02cd 0.212±0.01d  0.251±0.02c 0.258±0.07c 932 α-Pinene 1
 ----------- 0.631±0.07a 0.580±0.06b 0.583±0.06b 0.571±0.05b 0.602±0.04b 0.576±0.03b 972 Sabinene 2
 ------------ 1.167±0.27a 1.084±0.23a 0.271±0.03b 0.224±0.02c 0.208±0.01c 0.286±0.04b 976 β-Pinene 3
 ------------ 3.224±0.59a 3.110±0.52a 0.416±0.03d 0.508±0.04b 0.510±0.03b 0.469±0.02c 990 Myrcene 4
 3.357±0.43a 0.966±0.07b 0.884±0.07c 0.611±0.05d 3.587±0.45a 0.425±0.03e 0.606±0.04d 999 n-Decane 5
 ------------ 0.127±0.02b 0.158±0.03a 0.121±0.03bc 0.091±0.006d 0.132±0.01ab 0.105±0.02cd 1005 α-Phellandrene 6
 ------------ 0.167±0.01a 0.092±0.007cd 0.102±0.01bc 0.069±0.005e 0.115±0.02b 0.081±0.007de 1016 α-Terpinene 7
 ------------ 0.029±0.004d 0.015±0.002e 0.082±0.005b 0.058±0.006c 0.093±0.007a 0.048±0.003c 1024 p-Cymene 8
 0.289±0.02b 0.796±0.07a 0.754±0.06a 0.142±0.02cd 0.127±0.02d 0.150±0.01c 0.134±0.01d 1028 Limonene 9
 3.463±0.66a 1.121±0.31b 1.074±0.20b 0.602±0.05c 3.523±0.50a 0.614±0.05c 1.088±0.11b 1030 1,8-Cineole 10
 0.397±0.04a 0.125±0.01c 0.101±0.01d 0.145±0.03bc 0.126±0.02c 0.153±0.01b 0.137±0.02bc 1036 (Z)-β-Ocimene 11
 ----------- 0.039±0.004d 0.018±0.002e 0.085±0.006ab 0.062±0.004c 0.094±0.006a 0.075±0.003b 1041 Benzene acetaldehyde 12
 ------------ 0.602±0.07a 0.581±0.05ab 0.561±0.04ab 0.549±0.05b 0.567±0.04ab 0.566±0.03ab 1046 (E)-β-Ocimene 13
 ------------ 0.126±0.02b 0.118±0.02b 0.142±0.02a 0.128±0.01b 0.123±0.01b 0.139±0.01a 1057 γ-Terpinene 14
 ----------- 0.163±0.03a 0.150±0.02ab 0.145±0.03b 0.137±0.02b 0.120±0.01c 0.151±0. 01ab 1066 cis-Sabinene hydrate 15
 ----------- 0.371±0.04a 0.324±0.03bc 0.319±0.04bc 0.281±0.03d 0.332±0.02b 0.309±0.02c 1088 Terpinolene 16
 10.850±1.89a 5.733±0.51b 5.696±0.45b 0.593±0.05c 0.584±0.06c 0.516±0.04d 0.590±0.04c 1099 Linalool 17
 ------------ 0.136±0.02a 0.129±0.02a 0.072±0.007b 0.061±0.004c 0.079±0.005b 0.062±0.004c 1112 1-Octen-3-yl acetate 18
 ------------ 0.089±0.009d 0.058±0.006e 0.119±0.01ab 0.102±0.03c 0.128±0.01a 0.114±0.01b 1144 Camphor 19
 ------------ 0.220±0.02a 0.190±0.03b 0.161±0.02c 0.132±0.02d 0.198±0.02b 0.170±0.02c 1166 δ-Terpineol 20
 ------------ 0.097±0.007a 0.077±0.005b 0.076±0.006b 0.066±0.006c 0.097±0.007a 0.090±0.002a 1177 Terpinen-4-ol 21
 0.483±0.05f 1.360±0.18b 2.110±0.26a 0.703±0.05d 0.682±0.05de 0.664±0.04e 0.761±0.04c 1190 α-Terpineol 22
 0.783±0.07a 0.203±0.04e 0.177±0.03e 0.690±0.06b 0.512±0.04c 0.414±0.03d 0.565±0.03c 1199 n-Dodecane 23
 0.965±0.07a 0.821±0.08b 0.798±0.07b 0.589±0.06c 0.346±0.04d 0.604±0.05c 0.605±0.04c 1212 Octanol acetate 24
 0.248±0.01a 0.098±0.009c 0.088±0.007c 0.195±0.01b 0.101±0.009c 0.199±0.02b 0.250±0.02a 1222 Trans-Carveol 25
 ------------ 0.129±0.02b 0.108±0.02b 0.791±0.06a 0.753±0.06a 0.043±0.003c 0.036±0.003c 1256 Linalyl acetate 26
 6.657±1.03a 1.843±0.28d 2.644±0.36b 1.692±0.23 2.395±0.18c 1.005±0.08f 1.332±0.12e 1286 Bornyl acetate 27
 0.146±0.01f 0.219±0.03e 0.184±0.03e 0.562±0.05a 0.365±0.03d 0.497±0.03b 0.444±0.03c 1337 δ-Elemene 28
 0.095±0.007c 0.224±0.03a 0.199±0.04a 0.154±0.02b 0.135±0.02b 0.135±0.01b 0.146±0.01b 1349 α-Terpinyl acetate 29
 12.704±1.77a 1.140±0.21e 2.288±0.27b 1.711±0.12c 1.389±0.09d 0.403±0.03g 0.741±0.05f 1358 Eugenol 30
 0.056±0.006d 0.121±0.01b 0.091±0.008c 0.314±0.04a 0.291±0.04a 0.292±0.02a 0.297±0.02a 1375 α-Copaene 31
 0.084±0.009d 0.130±0.01c 0.060±0.007e 0.214±0.02a 0.130±0.02c 0.222±0.02a 0.168±0.01b 1390 β-Cubebene 32
 4.894±0.42d 6.117±0.49c 6.083±0.41c 7.520±0.30b 7.245±0.25b 7.970±0.18a 7.877±0.21a 1392 β-Elemene 33
 ------------ 0.092±0.009d 0.078±0.008d 0.339±0.04a 0.253±0.03c 0.256±0.01c 0.288±0.02b 1400 n-Tetradeane 34
 0.330±0.02cd 0.715±0.05a 0.702±0.06a 0.392±0.04b 0.345±0.03c 0.309±0.02d 0.341±0.02c 1405 Methyl eugenol 35
 ------------ 0.072±0.007a 0.051±0.006b 0.072±0.005a 0.051±0.004b 0.076±0.005a 0.053±0.006b 1415 Cis-α-Bergamotene 36
 0.196±0.02e 0.338±0.04d 0.308±0.05d 0.597±0.04a 0.469±0.03c 0.563±0.04b 0.587±0.04ab 1418 (E)-Caryophyllene 37
 ------------ 0.051±0.005d 0.036±0.004e 0.077±0.005a 0.039±0.003e 0.070±0.004b 0.059±0.005c 1428 β-Gurjunene 38
 8.369±0.86d 9.222±0.92c 9.093±0.87c 11.150±1.08b 10.920±1.06b 11.903±1.10a 11.838±1.02a 1436 trans-α-Bergamotene 39
 0.514±0.06d 0.606±0.07c 0.565±0.05c 1.148±0.11a 0.943±0.07b 1.108±0.09a 0.938±0.06b 1438 α-Guaiene 40
 0.063±0.006e 0.233±0.03a 0.186±0.02c 0.207±0.01abc 0.132±0.01d 0.219±0.02ab 0.196±0.01bc 1443 (Z)-β-Farnesene 41
 1.323±0.12e 2.157±0.15d 1.968±0.17d 2.814±0.19b 2.752±0.18c 2.897±0.18a 2.912±0.17a 1453 α-Humulene 42
 0.247±0.01e 0.448±0.05c 0.403±0.04d 0.459±0.05bc 0.392±0.04 0.560±0.04a 0.488±0.03b 1457 (E)-β-Farnesene 43
 0.993±0.11f 1.521±0.17d 1.406±0.14e 1.992±0.12a 1.649±0.09c 1.007±0.07f 1.860±0.08b 1462 Allo-Aromadendrene 44
 4.026±0.47f 6.133±0.60e 6.098±0.64e 7.254±0.55c 7.007±0.52d 7.561±0.41a 7.453±0.19b 1480 Germacrene D 45
 1.901±0.32d 3.197±0.30c 2.913±0.21c 4.195±0.37b 4.071±0.34b 4.534±0.21a 4.474±0.19a 1496 Bicyclogermacrene 46
 0.190±0.01d 0.511±0.04a 0.471±0.04ab 0.451±0.04 0.397±0.05c 0.485±0.03ab 0.467±0.03ab 1498 Trans-β-Guaiene 47
 1.191±0.06e 2.010±0.07d 1.927±0.08d 2.682±0.09b 2.519±0.09c 2.795±0.08a 2.565±0.07c 1508 α-Bulnesene 48
 3.323±0.37f 5.423±0.48de 5.343±0.40e 5.741±0.31c 5.677±0.26cd 6.972±0.16a 6.085±0.15b 1514 γ-Cadinene 49
 0.859±0.07e 1.214±0.13b 1.146±0.10cd 1.150±0.12c 1.097±0.09d 1.281±0.07a 1.228±0.06b 1521 β-Sesquiphellandrene 50
 0.486±0.05e 0.612±0.05d 0.651±0.07d 0.698±0.05bc 0.683±0.07cd 0.748±0.06a 0.731±0.04ab 1524 δ-Cadinene 51
 0.150±0.01e 0.402±0.03d 0.376±0.03d 0.582±0.04a 0.461±0.06c 0.504±0.04b 0.478±0.03bc 1537 α-Cadinene 52
 0.394±0.02f 0.659±0.05e 0.635±0.06e 0.944±0.07b 0.799±0.06d 0.990±0.07a 0.880±0.06c 1564 (E)-Nerolidol 53
 ------------ 0.226±0.01ab 0.197±0.02c 0.223±0.01ab 0.215±0.04bc 0.240±0.02a 0.230±0.01ab 1575 Germacrene D-4-ol 54
 ------------ 0.214±0.02ab 0.182±0.02c 0.215±0.02ab 0.190±0.02c 0.228±0.01a 0.195±0.01bc 1577 Spathulenol 55
 ------------ 0.523±0.05b 0.494±0.04c 0.529±0.05b 0.485±0.04c 0.556±0.05a 0.516±0.04b 1599 n-Hexadecane 56
 2.65±0.20d 3.301±0.22b 3.205±0.19bc 3.510±0.22a 3.055±0.17c 3.566±0.10a 3.680±0.11a 1614 1,10-di-epi-Cubenol 57
 24.679±1.78e 27.520±1.58c 27.402±1.70c 28.510±1.64b 26.620±1.55d 29.062±1.31a 28.737±1.22b 1642 epi-α-Cadinol 58
 1.039±0.10d 1.663±0.09a 1.611±0.09a 1.404±0.10bc 1.391±0.08c 1.461±0.06b 1.399±0.07c 1649 β-Eudesmol 59
 1.353±0.10d 1.588±0.09a 1.574±0.11a 1.421±0.09c 1.409±0.09c 1.508±0.06b 1.456±0.07c 1654 α-Cadinol 60
 0.248±0.01d 0.543±0.03ab 0.544±0.04ab 0.462±0.05c 0.419±0.05c 0.592±0.04a 0.536±0.04b 1685 β-Bisabolol 61

Data are mean ±standard deviation of eight replications. Means followed by the same letter within a row are not significantly different according to Duncan’s 
multiple range test at P< 0.05.

34 V. Tavallali, H. Gholami, O. Espargham

Tab. 1:  Phytochemical profile (%) identified in essential oil of sweet basil supplied with diverse zinc and salicylic acid sources.

 Control Salicylic  Salicylic Zn-EDTA Zn-EDTA n[Zn(SA)2] n[Zn(SA)2] Retention Compound No.
  acid 0.2% acid 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% Index 

 ----------- 0.422±0.05a 0.377±0.03b 0.238±0.02cd 0.212±0.01d  0.251±0.02c 0.258±0.07c 932 α-Pinene 1
 ----------- 0.631±0.07a 0.580±0.06b 0.583±0.06b 0.571±0.05b 0.602±0.04b 0.576±0.03b 972 Sabinene 2
 ------------ 1.167±0.27a 1.084±0.23a 0.271±0.03b 0.224±0.02c 0.208±0.01c 0.286±0.04b 976 β-Pinene 3
 ------------ 3.224±0.59a 3.110±0.52a 0.416±0.03d 0.508±0.04b 0.510±0.03b 0.469±0.02c 990 Myrcene 4
 3.357±0.43a 0.966±0.07b 0.884±0.07c 0.611±0.05d 3.587±0.45a 0.425±0.03e 0.606±0.04d 999 n-Decane 5
 ------------ 0.127±0.02b 0.158±0.03a 0.121±0.03bc 0.091±0.006d 0.132±0.01ab 0.105±0.02cd 1005 α-Phellandrene 6
 ------------ 0.167±0.01a 0.092±0.007cd 0.102±0.01bc 0.069±0.005e 0.115±0.02b 0.081±0.007de 1016 α-Terpinene 7
 ------------ 0.029±0.004d 0.015±0.002e 0.082±0.005b 0.058±0.006c 0.093±0.007a 0.048±0.003c 1024 p-Cymene 8
 0.289±0.02b 0.796±0.07a 0.754±0.06a 0.142±0.02cd 0.127±0.02d 0.150±0.01c 0.134±0.01d 1028 Limonene 9
 3.463±0.66a 1.121±0.31b 1.074±0.20b 0.602±0.05c 3.523±0.50a 0.614±0.05c 1.088±0.11b 1030 1,8-Cineole 10
 0.397±0.04a 0.125±0.01c 0.101±0.01d 0.145±0.03bc 0.126±0.02c 0.153±0.01b 0.137±0.02bc 1036 (Z)-β-Ocimene 11
 ----------- 0.039±0.004d 0.018±0.002e 0.085±0.006ab 0.062±0.004c 0.094±0.006a 0.075±0.003b 1041 Benzene acetaldehyde 12
 ------------ 0.602±0.07a 0.581±0.05ab 0.561±0.04ab 0.549±0.05b 0.567±0.04ab 0.566±0.03ab 1046 (E)-β-Ocimene 13
 ------------ 0.126±0.02b 0.118±0.02b 0.142±0.02a 0.128±0.01b 0.123±0.01b 0.139±0.01a 1057 γ-Terpinene 14
 ----------- 0.163±0.03a 0.150±0.02ab 0.145±0.03b 0.137±0.02b 0.120±0.01c 0.151±0. 01ab 1066 cis-Sabinene hydrate 15
 ----------- 0.371±0.04a 0.324±0.03bc 0.319±0.04bc 0.281±0.03d 0.332±0.02b 0.309±0.02c 1088 Terpinolene 16
 10.850±1.89a 5.733±0.51b 5.696±0.45b 0.593±0.05c 0.584±0.06c 0.516±0.04d 0.590±0.04c 1099 Linalool 17
 ------------ 0.136±0.02a 0.129±0.02a 0.072±0.007b 0.061±0.004c 0.079±0.005b 0.062±0.004c 1112 1-Octen-3-yl acetate 18
 ------------ 0.089±0.009d 0.058±0.006e 0.119±0.01ab 0.102±0.03c 0.128±0.01a 0.114±0.01b 1144 Camphor 19
 ------------ 0.220±0.02a 0.190±0.03b 0.161±0.02c 0.132±0.02d 0.198±0.02b 0.170±0.02c 1166 δ-Terpineol 20
 ------------ 0.097±0.007a 0.077±0.005b 0.076±0.006b 0.066±0.006c 0.097±0.007a 0.090±0.002a 1177 Terpinen-4-ol 21
 0.483±0.05f 1.360±0.18b 2.110±0.26a 0.703±0.05d 0.682±0.05de 0.664±0.04e 0.761±0.04c 1190 α-Terpineol 22
 0.783±0.07a 0.203±0.04e 0.177±0.03e 0.690±0.06b 0.512±0.04c 0.414±0.03d 0.565±0.03c 1199 n-Dodecane 23
 0.965±0.07a 0.821±0.08b 0.798±0.07b 0.589±0.06c 0.346±0.04d 0.604±0.05c 0.605±0.04c 1212 Octanol acetate 24
 0.248±0.01a 0.098±0.009c 0.088±0.007c 0.195±0.01b 0.101±0.009c 0.199±0.02b 0.250±0.02a 1222 Trans-Carveol 25
 ------------ 0.129±0.02b 0.108±0.02b 0.791±0.06a 0.753±0.06a 0.043±0.003c 0.036±0.003c 1256 Linalyl acetate 26
 6.657±1.03a 1.843±0.28d 2.644±0.36b 1.692±0.23 2.395±0.18c 1.005±0.08f 1.332±0.12e 1286 Bornyl acetate 27
 0.146±0.01f 0.219±0.03e 0.184±0.03e 0.562±0.05a 0.365±0.03d 0.497±0.03b 0.444±0.03c 1337 δ-Elemene 28
 0.095±0.007c 0.224±0.03a 0.199±0.04a 0.154±0.02b 0.135±0.02b 0.135±0.01b 0.146±0.01b 1349 α-Terpinyl acetate 29
 12.704±1.77a 1.140±0.21e 2.288±0.27b 1.711±0.12c 1.389±0.09d 0.403±0.03g 0.741±0.05f 1358 Eugenol 30
 0.056±0.006d 0.121±0.01b 0.091±0.008c 0.314±0.04a 0.291±0.04a 0.292±0.02a 0.297±0.02a 1375 α-Copaene 31
 0.084±0.009d 0.130±0.01c 0.060±0.007e 0.214±0.02a 0.130±0.02c 0.222±0.02a 0.168±0.01b 1390 β-Cubebene 32
 4.894±0.42d 6.117±0.49c 6.083±0.41c 7.520±0.30b 7.245±0.25b 7.970±0.18a 7.877±0.21a 1392 β-Elemene 33
 ------------ 0.092±0.009d 0.078±0.008d 0.339±0.04a 0.253±0.03c 0.256±0.01c 0.288±0.02b 1400 n-Tetradeane 34
 0.330±0.02cd 0.715±0.05a 0.702±0.06a 0.392±0.04b 0.345±0.03c 0.309±0.02d 0.341±0.02c 1405 Methyl eugenol 35
 ------------ 0.072±0.007a 0.051±0.006b 0.072±0.005a 0.051±0.004b 0.076±0.005a 0.053±0.006b 1415 Cis-α-Bergamotene 36
 0.196±0.02e 0.338±0.04d 0.308±0.05d 0.597±0.04a 0.469±0.03c 0.563±0.04b 0.587±0.04ab 1418 (E)-Caryophyllene 37
 ------------ 0.051±0.005d 0.036±0.004e 0.077±0.005a 0.039±0.003e 0.070±0.004b 0.059±0.005c 1428 β-Gurjunene 38
 8.369±0.86d 9.222±0.92c 9.093±0.87c 11.150±1.08b 10.920±1.06b 11.903±1.10a 11.838±1.02a 1436 trans-α-Bergamotene 39
 0.514±0.06d 0.606±0.07c 0.565±0.05c 1.148±0.11a 0.943±0.07b 1.108±0.09a 0.938±0.06b 1438 α-Guaiene 40
 0.063±0.006e 0.233±0.03a 0.186±0.02c 0.207±0.01abc 0.132±0.01d 0.219±0.02ab 0.196±0.01bc 1443 (Z)-β-Farnesene 41
 1.323±0.12e 2.157±0.15d 1.968±0.17d 2.814±0.19b 2.752±0.18c 2.897±0.18a 2.912±0.17a 1453 α-Humulene 42
 0.247±0.01e 0.448±0.05c 0.403±0.04d 0.459±0.05bc 0.392±0.04 0.560±0.04a 0.488±0.03b 1457 (E)-β-Farnesene 43
 0.993±0.11f 1.521±0.17d 1.406±0.14e 1.992±0.12a 1.649±0.09c 1.007±0.07f 1.860±0.08b 1462 Allo-Aromadendrene 44
 4.026±0.47f 6.133±0.60e 6.098±0.64e 7.254±0.55c 7.007±0.52d 7.561±0.41a 7.453±0.19b 1480 Germacrene D 45
 1.901±0.32d 3.197±0.30c 2.913±0.21c 4.195±0.37b 4.071±0.34b 4.534±0.21a 4.474±0.19a 1496 Bicyclogermacrene 46
 0.190±0.01d 0.511±0.04a 0.471±0.04ab 0.451±0.04 0.397±0.05c 0.485±0.03ab 0.467±0.03ab 1498 Trans-β-Guaiene 47
 1.191±0.06e 2.010±0.07d 1.927±0.08d 2.682±0.09b 2.519±0.09c 2.795±0.08a 2.565±0.07c 1508 α-Bulnesene 48
 3.323±0.37f 5.423±0.48de 5.343±0.40e 5.741±0.31c 5.677±0.26cd 6.972±0.16a 6.085±0.15b 1514 γ-Cadinene 49
 0.859±0.07e 1.214±0.13b 1.146±0.10cd 1.150±0.12c 1.097±0.09d 1.281±0.07a 1.228±0.06b 1521 β-Sesquiphellandrene 50
 0.486±0.05e 0.612±0.05d 0.651±0.07d 0.698±0.05bc 0.683±0.07cd 0.748±0.06a 0.731±0.04ab 1524 δ-Cadinene 51
 0.150±0.01e 0.402±0.03d 0.376±0.03d 0.582±0.04a 0.461±0.06c 0.504±0.04b 0.478±0.03bc 1537 α-Cadinene 52
 0.394±0.02f 0.659±0.05e 0.635±0.06e 0.944±0.07b 0.799±0.06d 0.990±0.07a 0.880±0.06c 1564 (E)-Nerolidol 53
 ------------ 0.226±0.01ab 0.197±0.02c 0.223±0.01ab 0.215±0.04bc 0.240±0.02a 0.230±0.01ab 1575 Germacrene D-4-ol 54
 ------------ 0.214±0.02ab 0.182±0.02c 0.215±0.02ab 0.190±0.02c 0.228±0.01a 0.195±0.01bc 1577 Spathulenol 55
 ------------ 0.523±0.05b 0.494±0.04c 0.529±0.05b 0.485±0.04c 0.556±0.05a 0.516±0.04b 1599 n-Hexadecane 56
 2.65±0.20d 3.301±0.22b 3.205±0.19bc 3.510±0.22a 3.055±0.17c 3.566±0.10a 3.680±0.11a 1614 1,10-di-epi-Cubenol 57
 24.679±1.78e 27.520±1.58c 27.402±1.70c 28.510±1.64b 26.620±1.55d 29.062±1.31a 28.737±1.22b 1642 epi-α-Cadinol 58
 1.039±0.10d 1.663±0.09a 1.611±0.09a 1.404±0.10bc 1.391±0.08c 1.461±0.06b 1.399±0.07c 1649 β-Eudesmol 59
 1.353±0.10d 1.588±0.09a 1.574±0.11a 1.421±0.09c 1.409±0.09c 1.508±0.06b 1.456±0.07c 1654 α-Cadinol 60
 0.248±0.01d 0.543±0.03ab 0.544±0.04ab 0.462±0.05c 0.419±0.05c 0.592±0.04a 0.536±0.04b 1685 β-Bisabolol 61

Data are mean ±standard deviation of eight replications. Means followed by the same letter within a row are not significantly different according to Duncan’s 
multiple range test at P< 0.05.

34 V. Tavallali, H. Gholami, O. Espargham

Tab. 1:  Phytochemical profile (%) identified in essential oil of sweet basil supplied with diverse zinc and salicylic acid sources.

 Control Salicylic  Salicylic Zn-EDTA Zn-EDTA n[Zn(SA)2] n[Zn(SA)2] Retention Compound No.
  acid 0.2% acid 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% Index 

 ----------- 0.422±0.05a 0.377±0.03b 0.238±0.02cd 0.212±0.01d  0.251±0.02c 0.258±0.07c 932 α-Pinene 1
 ----------- 0.631±0.07a 0.580±0.06b 0.583±0.06b 0.571±0.05b 0.602±0.04b 0.576±0.03b 972 Sabinene 2
 ------------ 1.167±0.27a 1.084±0.23a 0.271±0.03b 0.224±0.02c 0.208±0.01c 0.286±0.04b 976 β-Pinene 3
 ------------ 3.224±0.59a 3.110±0.52a 0.416±0.03d 0.508±0.04b 0.510±0.03b 0.469±0.02c 990 Myrcene 4
 3.357±0.43a 0.966±0.07b 0.884±0.07c 0.611±0.05d 3.587±0.45a 0.425±0.03e 0.606±0.04d 999 n-Decane 5
 ------------ 0.127±0.02b 0.158±0.03a 0.121±0.03bc 0.091±0.006d 0.132±0.01ab 0.105±0.02cd 1005 α-Phellandrene 6
 ------------ 0.167±0.01a 0.092±0.007cd 0.102±0.01bc 0.069±0.005e 0.115±0.02b 0.081±0.007de 1016 α-Terpinene 7
 ------------ 0.029±0.004d 0.015±0.002e 0.082±0.005b 0.058±0.006c 0.093±0.007a 0.048±0.003c 1024 p-Cymene 8
 0.289±0.02b 0.796±0.07a 0.754±0.06a 0.142±0.02cd 0.127±0.02d 0.150±0.01c 0.134±0.01d 1028 Limonene 9
 3.463±0.66a 1.121±0.31b 1.074±0.20b 0.602±0.05c 3.523±0.50a 0.614±0.05c 1.088±0.11b 1030 1,8-Cineole 10
 0.397±0.04a 0.125±0.01c 0.101±0.01d 0.145±0.03bc 0.126±0.02c 0.153±0.01b 0.137±0.02bc 1036 (Z)-β-Ocimene 11
 ----------- 0.039±0.004d 0.018±0.002e 0.085±0.006ab 0.062±0.004c 0.094±0.006a 0.075±0.003b 1041 Benzene acetaldehyde 12
 ------------ 0.602±0.07a 0.581±0.05ab 0.561±0.04ab 0.549±0.05b 0.567±0.04ab 0.566±0.03ab 1046 (E)-β-Ocimene 13
 ------------ 0.126±0.02b 0.118±0.02b 0.142±0.02a 0.128±0.01b 0.123±0.01b 0.139±0.01a 1057 γ-Terpinene 14
 ----------- 0.163±0.03a 0.150±0.02ab 0.145±0.03b 0.137±0.02b 0.120±0.01c 0.151±0. 01ab 1066 cis-Sabinene hydrate 15
 ----------- 0.371±0.04a 0.324±0.03bc 0.319±0.04bc 0.281±0.03d 0.332±0.02b 0.309±0.02c 1088 Terpinolene 16
 10.850±1.89a 5.733±0.51b 5.696±0.45b 0.593±0.05c 0.584±0.06c 0.516±0.04d 0.590±0.04c 1099 Linalool 17
 ------------ 0.136±0.02a 0.129±0.02a 0.072±0.007b 0.061±0.004c 0.079±0.005b 0.062±0.004c 1112 1-Octen-3-yl acetate 18
 ------------ 0.089±0.009d 0.058±0.006e 0.119±0.01ab 0.102±0.03c 0.128±0.01a 0.114±0.01b 1144 Camphor 19
 ------------ 0.220±0.02a 0.190±0.03b 0.161±0.02c 0.132±0.02d 0.198±0.02b 0.170±0.02c 1166 δ-Terpineol 20
 ------------ 0.097±0.007a 0.077±0.005b 0.076±0.006b 0.066±0.006c 0.097±0.007a 0.090±0.002a 1177 Terpinen-4-ol 21
 0.483±0.05f 1.360±0.18b 2.110±0.26a 0.703±0.05d 0.682±0.05de 0.664±0.04e 0.761±0.04c 1190 α-Terpineol 22
 0.783±0.07a 0.203±0.04e 0.177±0.03e 0.690±0.06b 0.512±0.04c 0.414±0.03d 0.565±0.03c 1199 n-Dodecane 23
 0.965±0.07a 0.821±0.08b 0.798±0.07b 0.589±0.06c 0.346±0.04d 0.604±0.05c 0.605±0.04c 1212 Octanol acetate 24
 0.248±0.01a 0.098±0.009c 0.088±0.007c 0.195±0.01b 0.101±0.009c 0.199±0.02b 0.250±0.02a 1222 Trans-Carveol 25
 ------------ 0.129±0.02b 0.108±0.02b 0.791±0.06a 0.753±0.06a 0.043±0.003c 0.036±0.003c 1256 Linalyl acetate 26
 6.657±1.03a 1.843±0.28d 2.644±0.36b 1.692±0.23 2.395±0.18c 1.005±0.08f 1.332±0.12e 1286 Bornyl acetate 27
 0.146±0.01f 0.219±0.03e 0.184±0.03e 0.562±0.05a 0.365±0.03d 0.497±0.03b 0.444±0.03c 1337 δ-Elemene 28
 0.095±0.007c 0.224±0.03a 0.199±0.04a 0.154±0.02b 0.135±0.02b 0.135±0.01b 0.146±0.01b 1349 α-Terpinyl acetate 29
 12.704±1.77a 1.140±0.21e 2.288±0.27b 1.711±0.12c 1.389±0.09d 0.403±0.03g 0.741±0.05f 1358 Eugenol 30
 0.056±0.006d 0.121±0.01b 0.091±0.008c 0.314±0.04a 0.291±0.04a 0.292±0.02a 0.297±0.02a 1375 α-Copaene 31
 0.084±0.009d 0.130±0.01c 0.060±0.007e 0.214±0.02a 0.130±0.02c 0.222±0.02a 0.168±0.01b 1390 β-Cubebene 32
 4.894±0.42d 6.117±0.49c 6.083±0.41c 7.520±0.30b 7.245±0.25b 7.970±0.18a 7.877±0.21a 1392 β-Elemene 33
 ------------ 0.092±0.009d 0.078±0.008d 0.339±0.04a 0.253±0.03c 0.256±0.01c 0.288±0.02b 1400 n-Tetradeane 34
 0.330±0.02cd 0.715±0.05a 0.702±0.06a 0.392±0.04b 0.345±0.03c 0.309±0.02d 0.341±0.02c 1405 Methyl eugenol 35
 ------------ 0.072±0.007a 0.051±0.006b 0.072±0.005a 0.051±0.004b 0.076±0.005a 0.053±0.006b 1415 Cis-α-Bergamotene 36
 0.196±0.02e 0.338±0.04d 0.308±0.05d 0.597±0.04a 0.469±0.03c 0.563±0.04b 0.587±0.04ab 1418 (E)-Caryophyllene 37
 ------------ 0.051±0.005d 0.036±0.004e 0.077±0.005a 0.039±0.003e 0.070±0.004b 0.059±0.005c 1428 β-Gurjunene 38
 8.369±0.86d 9.222±0.92c 9.093±0.87c 11.150±1.08b 10.920±1.06b 11.903±1.10a 11.838±1.02a 1436 trans-α-Bergamotene 39
 0.514±0.06d 0.606±0.07c 0.565±0.05c 1.148±0.11a 0.943±0.07b 1.108±0.09a 0.938±0.06b 1438 α-Guaiene 40
 0.063±0.006e 0.233±0.03a 0.186±0.02c 0.207±0.01abc 0.132±0.01d 0.219±0.02ab 0.196±0.01bc 1443 (Z)-β-Farnesene 41
 1.323±0.12e 2.157±0.15d 1.968±0.17d 2.814±0.19b 2.752±0.18c 2.897±0.18a 2.912±0.17a 1453 α-Humulene 42
 0.247±0.01e 0.448±0.05c 0.403±0.04d 0.459±0.05bc 0.392±0.04 0.560±0.04a 0.488±0.03b 1457 (E)-β-Farnesene 43
 0.993±0.11f 1.521±0.17d 1.406±0.14e 1.992±0.12a 1.649±0.09c 1.007±0.07f 1.860±0.08b 1462 Allo-Aromadendrene 44
 4.026±0.47f 6.133±0.60e 6.098±0.64e 7.254±0.55c 7.007±0.52d 7.561±0.41a 7.453±0.19b 1480 Germacrene D 45
 1.901±0.32d 3.197±0.30c 2.913±0.21c 4.195±0.37b 4.071±0.34b 4.534±0.21a 4.474±0.19a 1496 Bicyclogermacrene 46
 0.190±0.01d 0.511±0.04a 0.471±0.04ab 0.451±0.04 0.397±0.05c 0.485±0.03ab 0.467±0.03ab 1498 Trans-β-Guaiene 47
 1.191±0.06e 2.010±0.07d 1.927±0.08d 2.682±0.09b 2.519±0.09c 2.795±0.08a 2.565±0.07c 1508 α-Bulnesene 48
 3.323±0.37f 5.423±0.48de 5.343±0.40e 5.741±0.31c 5.677±0.26cd 6.972±0.16a 6.085±0.15b 1514 γ-Cadinene 49
 0.859±0.07e 1.214±0.13b 1.146±0.10cd 1.150±0.12c 1.097±0.09d 1.281±0.07a 1.228±0.06b 1521 β-Sesquiphellandrene 50
 0.486±0.05e 0.612±0.05d 0.651±0.07d 0.698±0.05bc 0.683±0.07cd 0.748±0.06a 0.731±0.04ab 1524 δ-Cadinene 51
 0.150±0.01e 0.402±0.03d 0.376±0.03d 0.582±0.04a 0.461±0.06c 0.504±0.04b 0.478±0.03bc 1537 α-Cadinene 52
 0.394±0.02f 0.659±0.05e 0.635±0.06e 0.944±0.07b 0.799±0.06d 0.990±0.07a 0.880±0.06c 1564 (E)-Nerolidol 53
 ------------ 0.226±0.01ab 0.197±0.02c 0.223±0.01ab 0.215±0.04bc 0.240±0.02a 0.230±0.01ab 1575 Germacrene D-4-ol 54
 ------------ 0.214±0.02ab 0.182±0.02c 0.215±0.02ab 0.190±0.02c 0.228±0.01a 0.195±0.01bc 1577 Spathulenol 55
 ------------ 0.523±0.05b 0.494±0.04c 0.529±0.05b 0.485±0.04c 0.556±0.05a 0.516±0.04b 1599 n-Hexadecane 56
 2.65±0.20d 3.301±0.22b 3.205±0.19bc 3.510±0.22a 3.055±0.17c 3.566±0.10a 3.680±0.11a 1614 1,10-di-epi-Cubenol 57
 24.679±1.78e 27.520±1.58c 27.402±1.70c 28.510±1.64b 26.620±1.55d 29.062±1.31a 28.737±1.22b 1642 epi-α-Cadinol 58
 1.039±0.10d 1.663±0.09a 1.611±0.09a 1.404±0.10bc 1.391±0.08c 1.461±0.06b 1.399±0.07c 1649 β-Eudesmol 59
 1.353±0.10d 1.588±0.09a 1.574±0.11a 1.421±0.09c 1.409±0.09c 1.508±0.06b 1.456±0.07c 1654 α-Cadinol 60
 0.248±0.01d 0.543±0.03ab 0.544±0.04ab 0.462±0.05c 0.419±0.05c 0.592±0.04a 0.536±0.04b 1685 β-Bisabolol 61

Data are mean ±standard deviation of eight replications. Means followed by the same letter within a row are not significantly different according to Duncan’s 
multiple range test at P< 0.05.



 Essential oils of Ocimum basilicum L. grown with Zn-salicylic acid nano-complex 31

Tab. 2:  Effect of different zinc and salicylic acid sources on concentrations of phenolic compounds and flavonoids in extract of sweet basil.

Treatments Gallic Carvacrol Kaempferol Rosmarinc Rutin Catechin Cinnamic Ferulic Luteolin Quercetin
 acid   acid   acid acid

n[Zn(SA)2]  3.77±0.18b 2.41±0.10b 3.10±0.21b 5.29±0.23b 2.13±0.09bc 3.51±0.15b 3.71±0.17b 4.06±0.19b 0.91±0.06b 3.97±0.16b
0.1%
n[Zn(SA)2]  4.37±0.20a 2.65±0.12a 3.81±0.17a 5.70±0.25a 2.74±0.11a 4.22±0.14a 4.04±0.16a 4.54±0.18a 1.13±0.09a 4.21±0.17a
0.2%
Zn-EDTA 3.20±0.17cd 2.16±0.12c 2.67±0.19d 4.85±0.21c 1.81±0.10d 3.48±0.11b 3.19±0.20d 4.10±0.16b 0.71±0.08b 3.68±0.19c
0.1%
Zn-EDTA 3.83±0.14b 2.38±0.14b 2.92±0.20c 5.10±0.19b 2.25±0.08b 4.05±0.13a 3.41±0.17c 3.43±0.16c 0.83±0.07b 3.97±0.16b
0.2%
Salicylic acid 3.03±0.18d 2.01±0.11c 2.82±0.16cd 2.88±0.20e 1.56±0.09e 3.50±0.13b 2.81±0.16e 2.11±0.13d ND 3.97±0.16b
0.1%
Salicylic acid 3.44±0.16c 2.17±0.10c 3.12±0.18b 3.11±0.18d 1.99±0.08cd 3.66±0.12b 3.01±0.17de 2.21±0.14d ND 4.14±0.17a
0.2%
Control 2.22±0.12e ND 1.54±0.10e 2.11±0.14f ND 2.32±0.10c 1.92±0.09f ND ND 2.87±0.16d

ND: Not detected  
*Calculated mean amount of the flavonoids and polyphenols (mg g-1 DM) based on the weight of the ground dry plant in eight replicates ± standard devia-
tion. Means followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different according to Duncan’s multiple range test at P< 0.05.

Tab. 3:  Radical scavenging activity of sweet basil’s essential oils affected by different zinc and salicylic acid sources.

Properties n[Zn(SA)2]  n[Zn(SA)2] Zn-EDTA Zn-EDTA  Salicylic acid Salicylic acid Control
 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% 0.2% 

Antioxidant (mg AAE g-1)a 21.44±1.5 22.94±1.7 16.30±1.4 18.78±1.6 15.08±1.3 16.71±1.4 8.82±1.2
IC50 for RNS scavenging (mg mL-1)b 1.59±0.1 1.47±0.1 2.62±0.2 2.44±0.3 2.19±0.3 1.94±0.1 5.12±0.5
IC50 for ROS scavenging (mg mL-1)c 1.24±0.3  1.03±0.2 1.43±0.3 1.31±0.4 1.76±0.4 1.59±0.3 3.56±0.7
IC50 for TBARS scavenging (mg mL-1)d 3.16±0.3 2.87±0.2 4.09±0.3 3.64±0.3 3.84±0.2 3.61±0.3 5.99±0.4
IC50 for H2O2 scavenging (mg mL-1)c 2.33±0.3 2.14±0.2 2.54±0.3 2.41±0.4 3.12±0.3 2.81±0.5 5.43±0.6

aData are presented as milligrams ascorbic acid equivalents per gram of essential oil.
bIC50 is concentration of essential oil to scavenge RNS (reactive nitrogen species) by 50%.
cIC50 is concentration of essential oil required to scavenge ROS (reactive oxygen species) by 50%.
dIC50 is concentration of essential oil to scavenge TBARS (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) by 50%.
eIC50 is concentration of essential oil to scavenge H2O2 by 50%.

The application of zinc and plant growth regulator such as salicylic 
acid can affect the antimicrobial activity of the essential oils. Due to 
the complexity of the chemical structure of the essential oils, their 
volatility and their insolubility in water, investigating their anti- 
microbial activity is complicated. Hence, it is difficult to identify the 
molecular pathways involved in their actions. It is therefore assumed 
that each of the essential oil components has a separate mechanism 
for itself. In other words, because of the wide range of essential oil 
components, their antimicrobial properties do not depend on a single 
mechanism, but various mechanisms play a role at the molecular 
level in this regard.

One possible mechanism is to irreversibly damage the cell membrane 
of bacteria, which ultimately causes the leakage of the plasma mem-
brane ions, cytoplasmic material, and energy substrates deficiency, 
such as glucose. This action will eventually lead to lysis of bacterial 
cells and death. Many researchers focus on the antimicrobial activity 
of essential oils and test some of the various components of essen-
tial oils to find possible synergistic effects (KalemBa and KuniCKa, 
2003; BaKKali et al., 2008).
Our results showed that the application of 0.2% n[Zn(SA)2] has a 
significant effect on staphylococcus aureus growth in comparison 
with other foodborne microbes. In other words, among the studied 

Tab. 4:  Antimicrobial activity of sweet basil’s essential oils affected by different zinc and salicylic acid sources.

    MIC (mg mL-1)      

Species n[Zn(SA)2] 0.1% n[Zn(SA)2] 0.2% Zn-EDTA 0.1% Zn-EDTA 0.2% Salicylic acid 0.1% Salicylic acid 0.2% Control

B. subtilis 0.053±0.004 0.031±0.003 0.111±0.009 0.095±0.008 0.127±0.011 0.116±0.011 0.149±0.013
S. aureus 0.011±0.002 0.007±0.0005 0.041±0.004 0.030±0.003 0.049±0.003 0.043±0.002 0.069±0.005
E. coli 0.298±0.021 0.229±0.018 0.499±0.025 0.419±0.024 0.536±0.030 0.521±0.031 0.787±0.047
S. typhimurium 0.261±0.015 0.180±0.011 0.453±0.027 0.410±0.025 0.514±0.037 0.488±0.035 0.801±0.052
A. niger 0.079±0.008 0.068±0.045 0.179±0.008 0.154±0.021 0.195±0.028 0.183±0.032 0.230±0.040
C. albicans 0.069±0.005 0.050±0.005 0.140±0.016 0.117±0.011 0.186±0.018 0.159±0.016 0.287±0.022

Values are means of MIC in eight replicates ± sd (standard deviation).
MIC: Minimal Inhibitory Concentration.



32 V. Tavallali, H. Gholami, O. Espargham

microbes, this bacterium was the most sensitive to the sweet basil es-
sential oil. Staphylococcus aureus threatens people’s health through 
infectious diseases and food poisoning. In addition, it has the abili- 
ty to simultaneously resist multiple antibiotics (Dallal et al., 2010; 
normanno et al., 2007). The results of our study show that essential 
oil of basils that have been sprayed with Zn-salicylic acid nano-com-
plexes have good antimicrobial properties and can therefore be used 
in the food and pharmaceutical industry. 
The importance of the phenolic compounds, such as carvacrol, has 
been proved in improving the antimicrobial properties of essential 
oils. Previous studies have shown that carvacrol inhibits the growth 
of some bacteria, including E. coli and Bacillus cereus (Du et al., 
2008). In another study by Karaman et al. (2001), the strong bacte-
riostatic effects of Thymus revolatus essential oil were shown against 
Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. They expressed cause 
of these effects the high amount of carvacrol in the essential oil. The 
mechanisms by which phenolic compounds create toxicity for mi-
croorganisms include surface absorption and cell membrane break-
down, interference in the cytoplasmic membrane and membrane 
proteins function, reaction with enzymes and reduction of metal ions 
(negi, 2012). In general, it is difficult to compare the reported results 
about the antibacterial properties of essential oils. The reason for this 
is the difference in the methods used, their sources of preparation 
and bacterial strains (Basti et al., 2004).

Conclusion
Secondary metabolites in plants are of particular importance for 
food and medical purposes. Therefore, any factor that can increase 
these compounds without changes in the genetic structure of the 
plant are valuable. In this study, the application of Zn and salicylic 
acid nano-complexes improved growth characteristics, essential oil 
yield, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of sweet basil essen-
tial oil. Improvement of the antimicrobial and antioxidant proper-
ties of sweet basil essential oil can increase its application in the 
food, medical, pharmaceutical, veterinary, cosmetic and sanitary 
industries. Application of nanofertilizers is more advantageous than 
conventional forms of fertilizers due to stable physical properties, 
small particle size, higher surface-area-to-volume ratio, high density 
and high reactivity. In addition, nanofertilizers can be considered as 
controlling agents for the release of fertilizers in order to produce 
intelligent nanofertilizers to overcome the technical constraints on 
the slow and controlled release of elements of nutrition.

Authors contributions
Study conception and design: Vahid Tavallali, Acquisition of data: 
Omid Espargham, Analysis and interpretation of data: Vahid 
Tavallali, Drafting of manuscript: Hossein Gholami, Critical revi-
sion: Vahid Tavallali.

Acknowledgements
The authors thank Dr. Vahid Rowshan and Ms. Atefeh Bahmanzadegan 
for the laboratory equipment such as HPLC and GC/MS.

Conflict of interest
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

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ORCID
Vahid Tavallali  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6819-2008

Address of the corresponding author:
Vahid Tavallali, Department of Agriculture, Payame Noor University (PNU), 
P.O. Box: 19395-3697 Tehran, Iran.
E-mail: vtavallali@gmail.com; v.tavalali@pnu.ac.ir

© The Author(s) 2020.
 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of  
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creative-
commons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en).

http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/v10014-011-0004-x
http://dx.doi.org/10.2174/0929867033457719
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