Chemical Composition of the Essential Oil of Majorana Hortensis Grown in Uttaranchal
Chemical composition of the essential oil of Majorana hortensis grown in Uttaranchal
Shishir Kumar Singh
Abstract
GLC and GC-MS Analysis was done to analyse the hydrodistilled essential oil of Majorana hortensis grown in Uttranchal state of India. The 36 compounds could be identified out of 50 by their mass spectra accounting for 93% of the oil. The major ones are trans-sabinene hydrate (41.2%), terpinen-4-ol (18.5%), cis-sabinene hydrate (9.3%), a-terpineol (3.8%), p-cymene (3.6%) and sabinene (3.0%)
1. Introduction
Majorana hortensis syn. O. majorana is a perennial herb and native of Egypt and eastern Mediterranean countries. The aerial parts of the plants are used for oil, which has a lot of uses in flavour perfumery and pharmaceutical industry. It is also used as a spice and condiment as well as a flavouring agent in food industry. The plant has been used for centuries in the Mediterranean to help people maintain good health. As with many folk remedies, modern science has been late to the table starting research on this incredible plant. Recent laboratory studies have confirmed the powerful antibiotic, anti-fungal and anti-viral properties of the essential oil. The composition of oil from various related plant species have been investigated by number of workers (Lawrence, 1989;Nykanen, 1986; Komaitis, Infanti-Papatragianni, and Melissari-Panagiotou, 1992; Baser et al., 1993, Ravid and Putievsky, 1986; Vera and Chan Ming, 1999; Pande and Mathela, 2000). The composition varies from country to country and generally two types of oil forms exist. In one category the major components are terpinen-4-ol and sabinene hydrate whereas another form contains thymol and/or carvacrol as major constituent. (Sarer et al., 1982; Baser et al., 1993). In the present report GLC and GC-MS analysis was done of the oil obtained from freshly harvested aerial parts of Majorana hortensis grown at CRC Purara, Bageshwar-Uttranchal.
Shishir Kumar Singh
Abstract
GLC and GC-MS Analysis was done to analyse the hydrodistilled essential oil of Majorana hortensis grown in Uttranchal state of India. The 36 compounds could be identified out of 50 by their mass spectra accounting for 93% of the oil. The major ones are trans-sabinene hydrate (41.2%), terpinen-4-ol (18.5%), cis-sabinene hydrate (9.3%), a-terpineol (3.8%), p-cymene (3.6%) and sabinene (3.0%)
1. Introduction
Majorana hortensis syn. O. majorana is a perennial herb and native of Egypt and eastern Mediterranean countries. The aerial parts of the plants are used for oil, which has a lot of uses in flavour perfumery and pharmaceutical industry. It is also used as a spice and condiment as well as a flavouring agent in food industry. The plant has been used for centuries in the Mediterranean to help people maintain good health. As with many folk remedies, modern science has been late to the table starting research on this incredible plant. Recent laboratory studies have confirmed the powerful antibiotic, anti-fungal and anti-viral properties of the essential oil. The composition of oil from various related plant species have been investigated by number of workers (Lawrence, 1989;Nykanen, 1986; Komaitis, Infanti-Papatragianni, and Melissari-Panagiotou, 1992; Baser et al., 1993, Ravid and Putievsky, 1986; Vera and Chan Ming, 1999; Pande and Mathela, 2000). The composition varies from country to country and generally two types of oil forms exist. In one category the major components are terpinen-4-ol and sabinene hydrate whereas another form contains thymol and/or carvacrol as major constituent. (Sarer et al., 1982; Baser et al., 1993). In the present report GLC and GC-MS analysis was done of the oil obtained from freshly harvested aerial parts of Majorana hortensis grown at CRC Purara, Bageshwar-Uttranchal.
References: Lawrence, B. M. (1989). Progress in essential oils. Perf. Flav. , 14, 29-41. Nykanen, I (1986) Pande, C., and Mathela, C.S., (2000)