ESSENTIAL OILS FROM SPICES GROWN IN ALBERTA. ANISE OIL (PIMPINELLA ANISUM)

Abstract

The annual plant anise (Pimpinella anisum L.), grown in Alberta over five consecutive seasons, was rated as medium for its herb vigor and growth, and the yield and quality of its essential oil was determined. The average yield of steam-distilled oil, calculated on a dry weight basis, was 1.05–1.1% for seed and 1.2–1.35% for the whole crushed plant. The number of identified constituents, as determined by using a TL-GL-chromatography method, was 16 for the plant, and 12 for the seed oil, with corresponding percentages of 74.7 and 84.6, respectively. The only major oil constituent was trans-anethole which was 57.4% of whole plant and 75.2% of seed oil. The other constituents of plant oil, present in amounts of 1–5% were cis-anethole, carvone, β-caryophyllene, dihydrocarvyl acetate, estragole and limonene. Compositional data obtained for world market oils, which are used for flavoring by domestic food industries, suggested that the Alberta anise oils are of sufficient quality to substitute for the imported oils.