Jhunjhunwalla, Kamal, Singh, Rabindra, Barton, Stephen, Barker, James and Busquets, Rosa (2015) Extraction of volatile oil Carum roxburghianum from two locations in West Bengal and its ligustilide content. In: HPLC 2015 : 42nd International Conference on High Performance Liquid Phase Separations and Related Techniques; 21 - 25 Jun 2015, Geneva, Switzerland. (Unpublished)

Abstract

Introduction Carum roxburghianum is a niche species and an important part of cuisine of the Indian subcontinent. This paper compares the composition and the quality of the hydro-distilled essential oil across two districts in the Indian state of West Bengal, Nadia and Midnapore. Its possible use as a gut and airways relaxant has drawn the attention of the medical world. However, one of its major components, Z-Ligustilide, is now being sought after for its medicinal potential. Ligustilide has mainly been recognized for its neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory potential in the recent years. In addition to Carum roxburghianum, Danggui essential oil and Angelica senensis have been identified as sound sources of Ligustilide. The neuroprotective effects of Ligustilide also possess a potential role against Alzheimers disease. Methods Fresh seeds of Carum roxburghianum were hydro-distilled in a Clevenger -type apparatus for 5-6h. The distillate was then washed with hexane (5ml x 3 times). The solvent was then evaporated using rotator evaporator at 400C. The distillate was obtained in a round bottom flask. The oil analysis was performed using an Agilent 7890A series GC connected with 5975C MSD and FID connected with splitter with following conditions. Results The mean ligustilide content of the oil from the two locations varies between 17.83% for Nadia to 21.91% for Midnapore. The major components for these oils are Limonene (38.56% for Nadia and 38.17% for Midnapore), Gamma-Terpinene (3.91% for Nadia and 3.44% for Midnapore),terpin-4-ol (4.33% for Nadia and 3.59% for Midnapore) and sabinene (19.53% for Nadia and 17.63% for Midnapore). The composition is predominantly terpenic. The ligustilide contents of the oils from Nadia and Midnapore were 4118mg/kg and 4864 mg/kg respectively. It is to be noted that butylidene phthalide, a molecule structurally very similar to Ligustilide averages at 1.13% in Nadia as against 0.01% in Midnapore. Butylidene pththalide would have to undergo a dehydration rearrangement to arrive at Ligustilide. This indicates the possibility of this reaction having taken place in Midnapore while the butylidene phthalide remained unconverted in Nadia district.

Actions (Repository Editors)

Item Control Page