Abstract
The effects of variety and nitrogen fertilizer on essential oil and composition of active principles from chamomile flowers were studied. Nitrogen significantly (P = 0.05) increased essential-oil yield per unit dry flower weight in both Bohemia and Tisane varieties. Nitrogen significantly (P = 0.05) increased the contents of alpha-bisabolol and chamazulene, but significantly (P = 0.05) decreased the contents of bisabololoxides A and B in the essential oil. The Bohemia variety yielded low essential oil but of high quality compared with that of Tisane. The study showed that the quantity of essential oil in chamomile was inversely related to its quality in terms of alpha-bisabolol and chamazulene.
