The aim of this study was to evaluate the chemical composition of rhizomes and the biochemical activity of Curcuma longa L. acclimatized plants associated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and different substrates. The seedlings were produced in the laboratory using the tissue culture technique, in Murashige and Skoog culture medium. After 120 days, the seedlings were transplanted to pots in a greenhouse. Two types of substrates were used vermiculite and soil and vermiculite, commercial substrate, and vermicompost, with or without the addition of Rhizophagus clarus, Claroideoglomus etunicatum, or a combination of the two fungi. At the end of 240 days, the chemical composition of the essential oil of the rhizomes was evaluated and biochemical activity analysis was performed on the leaves. Oxygenated sesquiterpenes were the most prevalent, with the principal compounds being ar-turmerone and beta-turmerone. AMFs in the soil and vermiculite substrate resulted in an increased production of compounds with emphasis on caryophyllene, a-curcumene, beta-bisabolene, beta-curcumene, cyclohexene, cubenol, beta-santalol, alpha-acorenol, 7-epi-cis-sesquisabinene hydrate, 2,5-Octadecadiynoic acid, methyl ester, and cis-5,8,11,14,17-eicosapentaenoic acid. The opposite was true for the chemical composition of plants grown in substrates with more organic matter (vermiculite, commercial substrate, and vermicompost). AMFs also modified the antioxidant activity and phenolic compounds of the leaves. The free radical scavenging enzymes showed higher activity in plants exposed to AMFs in the substrate with soil and vermiculite. This was mainly true for catalase, the activity of which indicated stress; in this case, C. longa plants were smaller, less vigorous, and produced fewer rhizomes.
