Volatiles from herbs and spices 189
sesquiterpenes and oxygenated terpenoids as compared to green and white pepper
oils. Sumathykutty et al. (1999) identified elemol as the most abundant component of
black pepper leaf oil. Murthy et al. (1999) reported that pepper powder with an
average particle size of 0.7 mm is essential to release the maximum concentration of
monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes.
Jagella and Grosch (1999a), by adopting dilution and concentration experiments
as well as enantioselective analysis of optically active monoterpenes, indicated (±)
linalool, (+)-a-phellandrene, (–)- limonene, myrcene, (–)-a pinene, 3-methyl butanal
and methyl propanal as the most potent odorants of black pepper. Storage studies
conducted by Jagella and Grosch (1999b) using ground black pepper revealed that
losses of a-pinene, limonene and 3-methyl butanal were mainly responsible for
deficits in the pepper-like, citrus-like, terpene-like and malty notes after 30 days at
room temperature. The musty/mouldy off flavour of a sample of black pepper was
caused by a mixture consisting of 2,3-diethyl-5-methyl pyrazine and 2-isopropyl-3-
methoxy pyrazine. The key odorants of white pepper as identified by Jagella and
Grosch (1999c) are limonene, linalool, a-pinene, 1,8-cineole, piperonal, butyric acid,
3-methyl butyric acid, methyl propanal and 2- and 3-methyl butanal. Narayanan
(2000) described the percentage composition of the volatile constituents in four black
pepper varieties Panniyur-1, 2, 3 and 4 (Table 11.4).
Cardamom
The active constituent of cardamom is the aromatic volatile oil. The freshly dried
unsplit capsules filled with seeds are the best material for distillation of volatile oil.
Oils from freshly separated seeds or from whole capsules are almost identical as the
husk practically does not yield any oil (Govindarajan et al. 1982). Zachariah (2002)
described the chemical composition of cardamom oil from different samples (Table
11.5). Govindarajan et al. (1982) described the trace components in cardamom oil
(Table 11.6). Gopalakrishnan (1994) conducted studies on the storage quality of
CO 2 -extracted cardamom oil. The class of components that underwent quantitative
reduction was the terpene hydrocarbons in the oil, whereas the other components
showed varying responses at low and ambient temperatures of storage
Cassia
Cinnamomum cassia yields bark and leaf oils that are economically important. The
bark of cassia is coarser and thicker with a more intense aroma than the true cinnamon,
C. verum (Bercht. and Presl.). The bark is used for flavouring food and beverages and
also in pharmaceutical preparations and perfumery. The volatile oils from leaf and
bark and the oleoresin from bark are used in soaps, perfumes, spice essences and
beverages. The major component of the oil from cassia bark and leaf is cinnamaldehyde.
The Cinnamomum cassia Blume bark oil from Nigeria contained mainly
cinnamaldehyde, with some eugenol while the leaf oil contained high levels of benzyl
benzoate (Lockwood 1979). Cinnamon plants with purple leaf flushes had 29% more
bark oil (1.84%) as compared to those with green flushes (1.43%), whereas bark
oleoresin (8.41% and 7.90% in purple and green respectively) and leaf oil (1.68%
and 1.73% in purple and green respectively) contents were on a par in both the types
(Krishnamoorthy et al. 1988).
Headspace composition of cinnamon and cassia quills of different origin showed
that the cinnamaldehyde and benzaldehyde contents were in the ranges 2.3–86.2%
and 0.5–40.5%, respectively (Vernin et al. 1994). Jayatilaka et al. (1995) examined