Current Issues Regarding the Conditioning of Medicinal Plants in Ozonated Atmosphere for Conservation

Abstract

This paper presents the factors that cause degradation of medicinal plants, with applications to arnica and St. John’s wort. After being harvested, they begin to lose water and wither, enzymatic degradation processes starting to take place, accelerated by some physical, chemical or photochemical processes, which cause changes in their chemical composition. In light of these aspects and the active principles content, inhibiting possibilities of enzymatic processes and removing other polluting factors are analyzed, in order to maintain their quality during conditioning, processing and conservation. We propose a method and a device for treating these plants using an ozonated atmosphere.