Original Articles
Anupam Kr. Sachan, Doli R. Das
Abstract
Caraway oil is the essential oil obtained by steam distillation of the dried, ripe fruit of Carum carvi, are one of the earliest cultivated herbs in Asia, Africa and Europe. It is commonly known as Caraway (Hindi - Kala Jira/Arabic- Siyah Zeera) which is grown for its high content of essential oil which is mainly found in seeds Caraway is normally a biennial much-branched herb, 30 - 80cm in height, with narrow finely grooved leafy stems. It produces a deep taproot and a rosette of dark green, finely cut, feathery leaves in the establishment year. Caraway is found in Europe, Siberia, the Caucasus, the near East, the Himalayas, Mongolia and Morocco The flowers are produced on umbels, are white and 2-3 mm across, the outer ones larger than the inner ones. They open from late April onwards and are succeeded by fruits which are 3-6 mm long, and light brown, ripening from early July.The major compounds are carvacrol, carvone, α-pinene, limonene, γ-terpinene, linalool, carvenone, and p-cymene. The flavonoid constituents of caraway were included quercetin-3-glucuronides, isoquercitrin, quercetin 3-0 caffeylglucoside, and kaempferol 3-glucoside It was used in folk medicine for the treatment of many complains. The previous studies showed that the plant contained many bioactive metabolites and exerted antimicrobial, anticancer, antioxidant, hypolipidemic, antidiabetic, analgesic, diuretic, gastrointestinal, bronchial relaxant effects and many other pharmacological activities.