Regulation of essential oil production in plants

This review provides a summary of the physiological dynamics and regulation of essential oil production, from the literature and available information on diverse volatile oil crops. Essential oil production is highly integrat ed with the physiology of the whole plant and so depends on the metabolic s tate and preset developmental differentiation programme of the synthesising tissue. Essential oil productivity is ecophysiologically and environmental ly friendly. These and other aspects of the modulation of essential oil pro duction are presented, along with a brief outline of the current concept of the relevant biosynthetic mechanisms.