VARIATION IN VOLATILE AROMA CONSTITUENTS OF CULINARY HERBS

摘要

Culinary herbs are the edible plants consumed in small quantities to provide aroma and flavour and which have various health benefits. Hydro-distilled volatile oils of two culinary herbs, Apium graveolens L. (Celery) and Trachysperum ammi L (Ajwain) belonging to family Apiaceae, were analyzed using GC and GC-MS. There were thirty three monoterpenes (37.62%), forty two sesquiterpenes (59.77%) and very less amount of aliphatic (1.87%), aromatic (0.69%) and diterpenes found in A. graveolens while only eight monoterpenes (58.67%), twenty one sesquiterpenes (31.32 %) and fourteen aliphatic components (8.94%) consisting of seven aliphatic hydrocarbons (2.05%), four fatty acids (0.62%), two aliphatic fatty acid esters (1.66%) and one aliphatic aldehyde (4.61%) and two diterpenes (0.85%) were found in volatile oil of T. Ammi.