Acta Horticulturae

Symposium organisers and invited speakers. From left to right: J. Novak, B. Paris, G. Romussi, M.
Mulas, L. Pistelli, A. Giovannini, B. Ruffoni, J. Casanova, H.C. Baser, C. Franz and C. Cervelli.
welcomes by Dr. Tito Schiva, Director of the
CRA-ISF, and by Dr. Barbara Ruffoni, convener
of the Symposium. A workshop entitled
“Products from Labiatae” was organized to
present an overview on the uses, trade, and
quality of various species of the Labiatae and to
introduce arguments and practical approaches
for commercial possibilities of these crops. Prof.
Mulas (Sassari University) presented the
Traditional Uses of the Labiatae in the
Mediterranean Area, showing some unutilised
species; Prof. Pistelli (Pisa University) made a
wide ranging presentation on the complex
Phytochemicals from Lamiaceae, covering
material from nutraceuticals to hallucinogens;
Dr. Krausz (France) spoke about the global market
of two aromatic Labiatae: Lavender and
Lavandin as plants for perfumery; and Prof.
D’Antuono (Bologna University) discussed the
utilisation of Labiatae plants in context of the
food industry under the title Facts and
Perspectives of Edible Lamiaceae: from Flavour
to Health. A representative of the Ligurian
Administrative Region spoke about legal problems
related to the commercialisation of the
typical food product “Pesto”, a well known
basil sauce. A presentation on the ornamental
uses of Labiatae in gardens and urban decoration
was presented by Prof. Devecchi of the
Turin University.
Poster session and discussion.
The four sessions: Botanical Aspects, Germplasm
and Genetic Improvement; Phytochemistry
& Pharmacognosy; Propagation and
Biotechnology; and Production Techniques and
Plant Protection were all initiated with keynote
lectures.
A total of 35 oral presentations and 70 poster
presentations contributed to the scientific success
of the Symposium. A show of commercialised
plants and products belonging to many
Labiatae species (sage, basil, rosemary, lavender,
thymus, and other uncommon species) was setup
in a room of the Congress Centre. Food products,
medicinal and herbal products, cosmetics,
and ornamental and aromatic pot-plants of
several new varieties were shown by Italian
companies.
A whole lecture on molecular support of genetic
improvement was given by Prof. Johannes
Novak (Austria) and an elegant work in traditional
genetic improvement on thymus was presented
by Prof. Pank (Germany). In the opening
session on phytochemistry, a plenary lecture on
essential oils of Lamiaceae plants of Turkey was
presented by Prof. Husnu Can Baser (Turkey),
an international expert on essential oil research.
Other research reports on biodiversity were presented
by Prof. Boussaid (Tunisia), Prof. Povoa
(Portugal), and Prof. Tugrul Ay (Turkey).
Prof. Casanova (France) spoke about the identification
of essential oil constituents through the
use of 13 C-nuclear magnetic resonance. New
properties of several species in the Labiatae
family were suggested by Dr. Sarosi (Hungary)
speaking about antioxidant agents from
Prunella vulgaris; by Prof. De Mastro (Italy) discussing
the use of oregano as bioherbicide; and
by Dr. Joshee (USA) with a presentation on
medicinal properties of skullcaps. Although biotechnology
applied to the Labiatae has been
limited, a lecture by Dr. Vanek (Czech Rep.) outlined
techniques that can be applied in vitro to
cell and organ cultures to produce, induce, and
control production of secondary metabolites.
Also in this area, Dr. Giovannini (Italy) presented
data about the production of hairy roots in
Salvia species.
Information on diseases, pathogens, and organic
and integrated plant protection were presented
by Dr. Minuto (Italy) in describing
Albenga, a production area important for the
cultivation of many aromatic pot plants. Several
presentations dealt with basil [including genetic
improvement (Prof. Dudai, Israel), soiless cultivation
(Dr. Orsini, Italy), and biodiversity (Dr.
Elementi, Italy)] and Salvia [new active compounds
(Prof. Romussi and Dr. Bisio, Italy),
essential oil screening (Dr. Bertoli, Italy), new
floricultural varieties (Dr. Cervelli, Italy and Dr.
Paris and Dr. Combournac, France)]. A presentation
by Prof. Maffei (Italy) considered methodology
for molecular and chemical detection of
Salvia divinorum, a plant considered an illegal
drug in Italy.
An informal meeting during the symposium
was held to consider the formation of a working
group on Labiatae within the ISHS Section
Medicinal and Aromatic Plants. All participants
seemed to feel that a meeting on Labiatae
should be held every four to five years. At the
end of the third day, the attendants participated
in a guided visit to the Alfred Nobel villa, home
for Nobel Prize supporter over the several years
of his life in Sanremo. The farewell dinner was
held in the Casino of Sanremo, a relaxed
moment at the end of a symposium full of
results, information, suggestions, and knowledge
exchanges.
On the 4th day of the Symposium program,
technical visits were made to nearby Grasse,
in Provence, France, to visit the world centre
for perfumery plant cultivation, and to Albenga,
Italy, to visit the Research Centre of CERSAA
(Centro Regionale di Sperimentazione e
Assistenza Agricola) and farms that produce
aromatic plants for Northern Europe markets.
Several presentations (oral and poster) of the
Symposium can be seen and downloaded (in
PDF format) from the Symposium web pages
hosted by the CRA-ISF web site (www.istflori.it).
CONTACT
Barbara Ruffoni and Claudio Cervelli
Dr. Barbara Ruffoni, CRA - Experimental Institute
for Floriculture, Corso Inglesi 508, 18038
Sanremo, Italy, Phone: +39 0184 604823, Fax
+39 0184 694856, email: b.ruffoni@istflori.it
CHRONICA HORTICULTURAE •VOL 46 • NUMBER 3 • 2006 • 39