ABSTRACT
Freshly harvested crops of chamomile are live plant products or parts of them. They are characterized by a water content of about 80% and also by high metabolism. Therefore, the postharvest period is of decisive importance for the maintenance of excellent external and internal quality traits; it is the key for ensuring a stable and reliable quality of raw and processed chamomile products with a high standard of therapeutic and medical effects. However, our knowledge about what is happening between harvest (i.e., mowing and gathering in the field) and subsequent drying or further processing is still very poor. The physiological processes occurring in fresh horticultural crops, during the postharvest period in general, were described recently by References 9, 10, and 11 and more profoundly by Reference 8, but for medicinal and aromatic plants, and for chamomile herbs and flowers in particular, little information can be found. Recently, References 4 and 6 reported first results on the respiration activity of chamomile flowers.
