Lovage (Levisticum officinale KOCH.) is well known as a spice in the culinary and food industry and its pharmacological effect is utilised too. As a member of the Apiaceae family, it accumulates essential oil in each organ, which basically determines the quality of the drugs. Investigations were carried to study the role of harvesting time and age of the plants on the accumulation dynamics and main components of the volatile oil as well as on the sensory quality of the leaves and roots.

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... g the usual cultivation practices, leaf samples were taken in ten day intervals from the middle of July through the beginning of November and root samples from the beginning of September until the end of October both in one-yearold and two-year old populations. We have established in harmony with the literature data that both the age and harvesting date influenced the essential oil content of the drugs. The two-yearold leaves and roots contained higher essential oil content than the one-year-old samples. During vegetative stages, the highest volatile oil contents in the leaves were found in the middle of August, while in the roots in the second half of October. The sensory characteristics of the examined samples however, showed no connection with their harvesting time and plant age.