GC/MS Analysis of Essential Oil Composition from Selected Seed Spices

The chemical composition of essential oil (EO) isolated from dried fruits or seeds of four spices were evaluated by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis. EO extraction was performed by hydrodistillation method. The results revealed that yields of EO were 0.6%, 4.5%, 1.5%, and 0.8% in coriander, cumin, fennel and Indian mustard, respectively. The GC/MS analysis shown a total of 11, 14, 09 and 13 constituents in the EO isolated from coriander, cumin, fennel and Indian mustard correspondingly. Among the selected four spices, coriander EO had three major constituents linalool (54.23%), cinnamaldehyde (17.01%) and α-pinene (6.12%), while cumin EO showed five major constituents that were 1,4-p-menthadien-7-al, (31.48%), p-cumic aldehyde (26.65%), γ-terpinene (11.79%) and β-pinene (14.46%). Fennel EO had predominantly anethole (69.01%), followed by estragole (12.72%), fenchone (10.02%) and limonene (5.24%). The EO of mustard seeds registered higher concentration of 3-butenyl isothiocyanate (84.36%) and allyl-isothiocyanate (8.52%). The results presented in this paper would be useful for future investigations that could lead to the identification of the health benefits of EO from spices.