Pigment Content and Methyl Chavicol Production inAgastache foeniculumKuntze Cultured In Vitro

Agastache foeniculum Kuntze was cultivated in vitro in order to initiate a clonal selection of ecotypes and chemotypes. The shoots showed well-formed secretory structures on the leaf lamina. The production of methyl chavicol and trans-anethole was examined on the shoots cultured in vitro and compared to other plantlets of the same clonal population which were grown in the greenhouse. Under all the experimental conditions examined, Agastache foeniculum produced high percentages of methyl chavicol and trace amounts of trans-anethole. Addition of shikimic acid to the culture media, increased the concentration of chlorophyll (a and b), some carotenoids and methyl chavicol with respect to untreated media. A direct correlation between methyl chavicol production and pigment concentration was not observed.