sk81681 said:

So, I have my spring garden started indoors.  I neglected my basil seedlings and they died.  They are only about a inch tall. I decided to squeeze one of the dried out crispy leaves to see if it had that basil scent, but to my surprise I smelled the very pungeunt oh so familiar aroma of liquoriche. So I was wondering if anyone knew the percentages of all the alkaloids in different secions if this plant.  Is it possible that seedlings have a higher ratio of desired alks than their mature counterparts?

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There are many compounds in Ocimum spp. The dried leaves of O. basilicum contain 0.20-1% essential oil. The major compounds in the oil are linalool and methylchaviol. The exact amounts, however, vary considerably. For example, in some studies camphene has been found in O. americanum and not in O. basilicum. Conversely, cineole has been found in O. basilicum and not in O. americanum. Also, differences in the potassium to calcium ratio in the culture media can change the quantity of the major constituents in the essential oil.

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Some of the Compounds in Ocimum basilicum(for a more complete list see USDA Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases.):

Caffeic acid -- Leaf 19,000 ppm
1,8-Cineole -- plant 776 ppm, essential oil 1.6-8%
p-Coumaric acid -- Leaf 760 ppm
p-Cymene -- plant 1-16 ppm, essential oil <0.1%
Limonene -- plant 2-934 ppm, essential oil <1.0%
Linalool -- plant 30-300 ppm, essential oil 1.1-65.4%
Methylchaviol -- plant 238-8,780 ppm, essential oil 13.5-87.2%
Methyl cinnamate -- plant 1-2,800 ppm, essential oil 0-11.2%
Myrcene -- leaf 2-80 ppm, essential oil 0.1-2%
alpha-Pinene -- plant 2-180 ppm, essential oil 0.2-0.4% (all essential oil compositions are based on relative abundance)
B-Pinene -- plant 3-160 ppm, essential oil <1.0%
Quercetin
Rutin -- leaf
Safrole -- plant 60-400 ppm
alpha-Terpinene -- essential oil 0.03-0.2%
Trytophan -- leaf 2,210 ppm

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