Essential oil composition ofPimpinella anisumL. fruits from various European countries

Abstract

Variations in the essential oil composition of Pimpinella anisum L. fruits obtained from different geographical areas of Europe were determined using capillary GC and GC-MS techniques. The essential oil content of the samples was 10.0-53.6 mL kg(-1) and did not confirm to the European Pharmacopoeia standard in 5 samples out of 14. A total of 21 compounds were identified and significant quantitative differences were observed among the samples. The major component was trans-anethole (76.9-93.7%); the other principal compounds in oils were gamma-himachalene (0.4-8.2%), trans-pseudoisoeugenyl 2-methylbutyrate (0.4-6.4%), p-anisaldehyde (tr-5.4%) and methylchavicol (0.5-2.3%). The highest content of trans-anethole (>90%) was found in the samples from Greece, Hungary, Scotland, Lithuania, Italy, and Germany (2 samples). Essential oil of aniseed from Estonia was rich in gamma-himachalene (8.2%) and trans-pseudoisoeugenyl 2-methylbutyrate (6.4%). The sample from France contained the highest amount of anisaldehyde (5.4%) comparing with other samples (0-3.1%). beta-Bourbonene and alpha-farnesene are determined in anise oil for the first time.

Chemical Composition of the Essential Oil and Antimicrobial Activity of Scaligeria DC. Taxa and Implications for Taxonomy

“…Interestingly, geijerenes were previously detected in different families such as Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Rosaceae, Rutaceae and Fabaceae. However, the geijerenes were present only in the Pimpinella genus of the Apiaceae family [41,[42][43][44][45][46]. The stems and leaves, fruit and root essential oil components of S. tripartita confirmed our results that ST-1 oil contained 36.8%, 54.6% and 28.5% geijerene, respectively [17].…”

“…For instance, S. tripartita fruit oil was rich in geijerenes and its root oil contained epoxypseudoisoeugenylangelate and geijerene; which were identified as antibacterial compounds by bioautography method [17]. It is well known that C12 sesquiterpenes (geijerene, pregeijerene) and phenylpropanoids (pseudoisoeugenyl 2-methylbutyrate, epoxypseudoisoeugenyl 2-methylbutyrate) are phytochemical markers for the Pimpinella genera [40][41][42]. In another study, while fruit oil of Scaligeria lazica was found as a rich source of (Z)-β-farnesene (89,2%), the oil of the aerial parts was rich in (E)-anethole (49,7%).…”

Biosynthesis of t-Anethole in Anise: Characterization of t-Anol/Isoeugenol Synthase and an O-Methyltransferase Specific for a C7-C8 Propenyl Side Chain

“…Previous studies showed that the essential oil of the seeds and leaves of anise consists of 90% t-anethole as well as some methylchavicol, anisaldehyde, and b-caryophyllene (Orav et al, 2008). The close similarity in structure between t-anol and eugenol and isoeugenol suggests that an anise enzyme similar to IGS or EGS might be involved in its synthesis, utilizing the analogous substrate coumaryl acetate.…”

Morphology, Pathogenicity and Molecular Identification of Fusarium spp. Associated with Anise Seeds in Serbia

“…The fungi from genus Fusarium contain zearalenone, fumonisin, moniliformin, fusarin and other toxins (Desjardins, 2006;Frisvad et al, 2006). The quality of anise is determined mainly on the basis of the essential oil content and its composition (Orav et al, 2008). If anise seeds contain mycotoxins, this will be toxic to humans and represents a threat to public health (Jackson and Jablonski, 2004).…”