Research activity

Main topics:

• Gene reservation, preservation of medicinal plants in genebank and its methodological development
• Introduction of wild growing medicinal plants into the agriculture, development of agrotechnology
• Research on the biological bases of medicinal plants, breeding, maintenance of varieties
• Investigations on the chemical diversity of medicinal plant taxa and populations, chemotaxonomy
• Detection of physiological, genetical factors determining the production and quality of drugs
• Innovation in agro-technology (propagation, irrigation, herbicide technologies, harvesting and drying)
• Analysis of efective materials first of all essential oils, alkaloids, flavonoids: rutin examinations and development of methodologies
• Investigation on drugs of antioxidant properties, optimalization of their production

Main results:

• Genebank containing about 800 seed items and 200 vegetatively propagated taxa, co-ordination of the Hungarian medicinal plant gene-bank activity, wide exchange of breeding materials, elaboration or development of preservation methods of certain species (e.g. Rumex sp., Adonis vernalis, Foeniculum vulgare, Valeriana officinalis)
• Results of introduction activity in case of Solidago virga-aurea, Hypericum perforatum, Adonis vernalis, Althaea officinalis, Verbena officinalis, Rumex crispus and acetosa, Agastache foeniculum, Dracocephalum moldavica, Equisetum arvense etc. Elaboration of cultivation technologies and development of biological bases

Several hundred selected taxa of medicinal plants, 15 registered varieties, e.g.:

• 'Mexián' Mentha piperita 1997
• 'Napfény' Verbascum phlomoides 1997
• 'Magyar' Majorana hortensis 2000
• 'Tanamed' Tanacetum parthenium 2001 ( registered in Germany)
• 'Ametiszt' Papaver somniferum 2003 (EU patent)
• 'Foenipharm' Foeniculum vulgare 2003 (registered in Germany )
• 'Judit' Lavandula hybrida 2003
• 'Azulenka' Achillea collina 2014
• 'Sophie' Hyssopus officinalis 2014
• 'Pannon timol' Thymus vulgaris 2014

• Description of the chemical variability (essential oil components) of natural plant populations in case of Achillea collina, Achillea crithmifolia, Thymus serpyllum and Thymus pulegoides, propagation of the best materials. Comparison of Hungarian indigenous chamomile stands (essential oil spectrum, flavonoids), determination of areas assuring 'Hungariucum' quality.
• Evaluation of correlations between effective material production and life cycle in case of Carum carvi, Salvia sclarea determination of the role of plant age in quality of lovage, development of Colletotricum tolerant strains of Hypericum perforatum, optimalisation of germination parameters of Verbascum phlomoides, Rumex crispus, Solidago virgaaurea etc., hypothesis in connection with heritability of poppy alkaloids.
• Results, establishing practical development of agrotechnology: herbicid technologies for poppy, evaluation of the effect of irrigation on lovage, basil, effect of propagation time on the production of Perilla frutescens, storage characteristics of essential oil containing drugs, effect of agrotechnological measurements in sensory characteristics of different drugs.
• About 2000 alkaloid screens by TLC densitometry, 1500 essential oil distillations and extractions by supercritical CO2 method, analysis of oils and extracts by GC-MS , about 100 flavonoid determinations by TLC-denzitometry, furthermore analysis of hypericine, mucilage content, antioxidant capacity, etc.
• Books, study materials, manuscripts, research reports, scientific articles.