VARIATION IN VOLATILE AROMA CONSTITUENTS OF CULINARY HERBS

Culinary herbs are the edible plants consumed in small quantities to provide aroma and flavour and which have various health benefits. Hydro-distilled volatile oils of two culinary herbs, Apium graveolens L. (Celery) and Trachysperum ammi L. (Ajwain) belonging to family Apiaceae, were analyzed using GC and GC-MS. There were thirty three monoterpenes (37.62%), forty two sesquiterpenes (59.77%) and very less amount of aliphatic (1.87%), aromatic (0.69%) and diterpenes found in A. graveolens while only eight monoterpenes (58.67%), twenty one sesquiterpenes (31.32 %) and fourteen aliphatic components (8.94%) consisting of seven aliphatic hydrocarbons (2.05%), four fatty acids (0.62%), two aliphatic fatty acid esters (1.66%) and one aliphatic aldehyde (4.61%) and two diterpenes (0.85%) were found in volatile oil of T. Ammi.