The content and composition of the essential oil Found in Carum carvi L. commercial fruits obtained from different countries

Caraway (Carum carvi L., Apiaceae) is a very popular spice and herb, which is widely applied in the food and pharmaceutical industry. Variations in the essential oil content and composition in twenty commercial caraway samples obtained from retail pharmacies and health shops in different countries were determined using hydrodistillation and capillary GC techniques. The essential oil yields ranged from 0.6% to 5.4%. Eighteen compounds, comprising more than 97% of the composition of oil, were identified in the caraway essential oils. The main components of the oils in caraway seeds were carvone (44.5-95.9%) and limonene (1.5-51.3%). Between the content of carvone and limonene the negative correlation -0.999 (p < 0.01) was found. Additionally, beta-myrcene (0-0.4%), trans-dihydrocarvone (0-0.5%), and trans-carveole (0-0.2%), as well as alpha-pinene, sabinene, n-octanal, trans-beta-ocimene, gamma-terpinene, linalool, cis- and trans-limonene oxide, cis-dihydrocarvone, cis-carveol, perillaldehyde, trans-anethole, and trans-beta-caryophyllene were found in caraway oils. The content and composition of the essential oils in commercial caraway seeds is remarkably variable and conformed with the European Pharmacopoeia standards only in four samples among the 20 commercial caraway samples studied. The carvone and carvone-limonene chemotypes were found.