Caraway 289
and El-Khawas, (1998) the essential oils extracted from the gamma-irradiated
(10 KGy) caraway fruits were more effective as antioxidants than those produced
from microwaved fruits (low oven power setting for one minute).
Caraway essential oil or carvone, owing to antifungal and antibacterial properties,
is recommended for external use for the control of dermal mycosis and scabies.
The inhibitory properties of caraway extractives have been reported against
Staphylococcus aureus, Esherichia coli, Salmonella typhi and Vibrio cholerae (Syed
et al., 1987) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mishenkova et al., 1985). These properties
give caraway industrial importance in scenting soaps to be used as deodorants. For
the treatment of scabies, a solution containing five parts each of alcohol and oil of
caraway in 75 parts of castor oil is recommended for taking orally (Pruthi, 2001,
Bakhru, 2001), who further reported caraway seed, seed oil and carvone to possess
anthelmintic properties, especially in removing hookworms from the intestines. In
Indonesia the leaves mixed with garlic and spat on the skin are recommended to treat
inflamed eczema (Perry, 1980).
The taste of caraway being warm, pungent and aromatic makes it suitable for
overcoming bad breath or insipid taste and thus is used in oral preparations for
control of unpleasant odour or taste. Caraway has been proved as an adjuvant or
corrective for medicines and is recommended as a remedy curing digestive tract
disorders such as relieving gas from the stomach. It is also known to counter any
possible adverse effects of medicines and masks the foul smell of foods. Caraway has
also been reported to play a therapeutic role by showing advantageous effects on
intestinal iron absorption (El Shobaki et al., 1990). The essential oil from caraway
has been reported to be potentially anti-carcinogenic (Zheng et al., 1992). This cancer
chemopreventive property of caraway oil is probably due to the induction of the
detoxifying enzyme glutathione 5-transferase (GST). They further reported that carvone
and limonene are the compounds responsible for the above mentioned property while
carvone exhibited even higher activity as a GST inducer. Higashimoto et al., (1993)
also reported potent antimutagenic activity of caraway extracts against N-methyl-N-
nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine induced cancers in experimental animals. Thus abundance
of cancer chemopreventive substances (carvone) in diet may even inhibit the early
stages of carcinogenesis. Caraway has been reported to be used in the form of poultices
for the control of swellings in the breast and the testicles.
15.5.1 Use as veterinary medicine
Due to the presence of several functional properties in caraway such as being
carminative, antiflatulent, antispasmodic, antibacterial, antifungal and galactagogue,
the use of Carum carvi seed and extractives is very popular in the treatment of
animals for various ailments. As a veterinary medicine for animals, the caraway herb
is more a popular remedy than the fruit. The use of caraway, as decoction of fruit and
herbs for animals, improves digestion by promoting gastric secretion and stimulates
appetite. It is also used to cure gastrointestinal disorders like flatulence, stomach
aches and gripes. Caraway fruit coarse powder or dry herb mixed together, when fed
to cows, mares and other animals, enhanced lactation (Voloshchuk, et al., 1985,
Sadowska and Obidoska, 1998). The decoction of fruits is a good remedy for rabbits,
piglets and other animals against verminous disease. The effectiveness of caraway
extract has been reported by Gadzhiev and Eminov (1986) against trichostrongyle
larvae in rams. An ointment made from powdered fruits mixed with vaseline is