# Essential oil production from seeds of carrot (Daucus carota L.) grown on phytomanaged trace element-contaminated soils

## TL;DR

Carrots grown on polluted soil can produce essential oils with strong antifungal and herbicidal properties while helping clean the soil.

## Contribution

Carrot cultivation on trace element-contaminated soils offers a dual benefit of phytoremediation and high-value essential oil production.

## Key findings

- Carrot seeds produce essential oils with TE concentrations below quantification limits.
- The oils show strong antifungal activity against Fusarium culmorum and Zymoseptoria tritici.
- The oils inhibit germination and root elongation in ryegrass and lettuce.

## Abstract

The cultivation of Daucus carota L. (carrot)  on soils polluted with trace elements (TE) constitutes an innovative phytomanagement approach, combining significant ecological and economic benefits. This plant species exhibits a notable capacity to extract trace elements from the soil while generating valuable biomass, primarily intended for hydrodistillation to produce high-quality essential oils (EO). Carrots exhibit an enhanced capacity to accumulate cadmium in their leaf tissues, with a high bioconcentration factor (BCF = 1.71), as well as significant zinc accumulation. Furthermore, the cultivation of this biennial plant promotes an increase in soil microbial biomass, as assessed by phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) content, specifically enriching populations of Gram− bacteria, Gram+ bacteria, and saprotrophic fungi, thereby contributing to the modulation of microbial dynamics and the alleviation of stress within soil microbial communities. The EO extracted from carrot seeds contain TE concentrations below the quantification limit compared to other commercially available EO. Chemical analysis of the EO reveals a composition similar to that of commercial oils, with the major components being carotol (27.53%), an oxygenated sesquiterpene, and sabinene (26.08%), a monoterpene hydrocarbon. These EO have been extensively evaluated for their biological properties, demonstrating significant antifungal activity against Fusarium culmorum (IC50 = 0.57 ± 0.11 mg/ml) and Zymoseptoria tritici (IC50 = 1.09 ± 0.12 mg/ml), as well as antigermination activity against Blumeria graminis spores (IC50 = 1.47 ± 0.15 mg/ml). Additionally, these EO exhibit notable herbicidal properties, particularly in inhibiting root elongation and germination of the monocots species Lolium perenne (ryegrass) and the dicots species Lactuca sativa (lettuce). These findings highlight the potential of carrot as a tool for phytoremediation and the production of high-value bioactive compounds.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11356-026-37466-9.