Growth regulators and essential oil production

The aroma and fragrance industry is a billion-dollar world market which grows annually. Essential oils comprise the majority of compounds used by these industries. These sets of metabolites are formed mainly by monoterpenes, which are products of the plants' secondary metabolism. Biosynthesized from mevalonate and methylerythitol phosphate, the essential oil production depends not only on genetic factors and the developmental stage of plants, but also on environmental factors which could result in biochemical and physiological alterations in plants modifying the quantity and quality of the essential oil. These modifications impair aromatic plant production aimed at essential oil by reducing their quality. It is desirable to develop techniques of agronomical management to improve essential oil products and their specific compounds. Among other factors influencing essential oil production are plant growth regulators or plant hormones. Endogenous levels as well exogenous application could affect essential oil production and chemical composition. In this review we will present research in which plant growth regulators or their synthetic analogs were used and their effects on essential oil production.