Determination of essential oil content in caraway (Carum carvi L.) species by means of supercritical fluid extraction

Dependently on planting conditions caraway fruits contain 1-9% of essential oils consisting of about 30 compounds. Carvone and limonene account for the main portion, about 95%. To evaluate the quality of various registered caraway (Carum carvi L.) cultivars (Kepron, Prochan and Rekord) planted during 1998-2000, regarding the effect of sample grinding and preparation, plant treatment and time of harvest, the amounts of essential oil and the carvone/limonene ratio were determined. Both whole and ground caraway seeds were extracted. As obvious from the results, SFE is not suitable for the determination of essential oils in whole seeds since the results are lower in comparison with those of ground caraway. The way of grinding was also examined. Of the three mills used, a splintery mill VIPO seemed to be the most suitable. Further, the amount of essential oil was studied in caraway gathered at the beginning of maturation (sample A) and at full ripeness (sample B) of caraway seeds. It was found that the samples gathered at full ripeness (samples B) had more essential oil. It was also concluded that the use of the regulator Roundup Bioaktiv during caraway maturation to unite the ripening of achenes in the main umbel and the first-order umbels, and the use of fungicides (Alert S and Prelude 10) affected positively the amount of essential oil in caraway. Possibilities of SFE application for the essential oil determination in small samples gathered during breeding were investigated. The results were used as a one of the criteria during breeding. Classical way of the essential oil determination does not allow this option. An alternative method for the isolation and determination of essential oils - supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) - was investigated in this study.