Comparative studies on the major volatiles of Kalazira (Bunium persicum seed) of wild and cultivated sources

Abstract

Kalazira (Bunium persicum seed) is an expensive spice in India, extensively used for culinary purposes and for flavouring food and beverages. A comparison of the major volatiles of the oils of Bunium persicum of commerce (Kalazira) collected from the wild with that of the cultivated material indicated that the oil distilled from the latter is superior in quality, containing higher percentages of aldehydes responsible for the flavour of the seeds and lower percentages of terpene hydrocarbons, i.e. γ-terpinene and p-cymene. Thus matured seeds of cultivated origin yielded an oil rich in cuminaldehyde (27·3–34·1%), p-mentha-1,3-dien-7-al and p-mentha-1,4-dien-7-al (29·6–36·8%), while oil from the wild source contained more γ-terpinene (25·6–42·9%) and p-cymene (24·0–27·8%) and less aldehydes, being similar to the oil obtained from the immature seeds of cultivated source. The study also confirmed that the crop responds well to cultural treatments, yielding more than four times more seeds per plant as compared to wild ones. Apart from seeds, the straw available in large quantity also yielded an oil (1·20%) resembling the matured seeds in chemical composition.