Optimizing growing conditions for hydroponic farming of selected medicinal and aromatic plants

ABS T R A C T This work presents a pipeline for optimizing semi-hydroponic growth conditions and analyzes the impact on the growth and metabolism in three Mentha species (M . arvensis, M. x piperita, or M. spicata) and three Ocimum basilicum genotypes (Chl ' adek cerven ' a,Litra, or M ' anes). The plant gro w t h and the content-of nitrogen-containing compounds, phenolics, and terpenoids were determined under different nitrate concentrations and salt stress. Different responses were observed among genotypes for both species.Chl ' adek cerven ' a had the best growth under low nitrate, with lower histamine and higher flavonoid levels. Mentha x piperita was the best mint species per-forming under low nitrate and salt stress. Altogether, we demonstrate that a combination of phenomics and metabolomics is ideal to identi f y the optimal growth conditions for these plants and the chemical markers associated with these conditions. Besides, we showed that both prima r y and seconda r y metabolites can be good markers for classifying both species.