Kayser et al.
Essential Oil Content and Constituents of Black Zira
(Bunium persicum [Boiss.] B. Fedtsch.) from Iran
During Field Cultivation (Domestication)
Majid Azizi and Gholamhossain Davareenejad,
Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran
Rein Bos, Herman J. Woerdenbag and Oliver Kayser,*
Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy (GRIP), University of Groningen,
Antonius Deusinglaan 1, 9713 AV Groningen, The Netherlands
Abstract
Bunium persicum fruit oils from wild type (WT), first (CY1) and second year (CY2) cultivars (fourth and fifth
year plants) were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The essential oil content of the WT (9.1% v/w) was higher than the
oil content of the CY1 (6.2% v/w) and CY2 (5.1% v/w). No significant differences were found with respect to the oil
constituents. The main constituents were g-terpinene (WT: 44.2%, CY1: 40.8%, and CY2: 36.8%), associated with
cuminaldehyde (WT: 16.9, CY1: 14.1, and CY2: 11.8%), and g-terpinen-7-al (WT: 10.5, CY1: 10.6, and CY2: 18.7%).
In total 35 components could be identified covering 95.4% (WT), 94.9% (CY1) and 96.3% (CY2) of the oil content.
We also studied the phenology of the plants during the period 1999–2004.
Key Word Index
Bunium persicum, Apiaceae, essential oil composition, g-terpinene, p-cuminaldehyde, g-terpinen-7-al (p-mentha1,4-dien-7-al).
Introduction
(Bunium persicum [Boiss.], Fedtsch), Black Zira (Zireh e
Irani, Zireh kuhi) is an important aromatic plant that belongs
to the Apiaceae family. It originates from central Asia to North
India. According to the literature fruits of B. persicum contain
nearly 9% essential oil (1). The seeds are consumed widely as
a condiment. In the indigenous system of medicines, seeds are
regarded as stimulants, carminatives and found to be useful
in diarrhea and dyspepsia (2). In addition the plant is used for
culinary purposes and flavoring foods and beverages (3).
It is a perennial plant producing a tuberous root at 10 cm
depth of the soil. After flowering, the fruits from wild collected
plants (WT) as well as first (CY1) and second year (CY2) cultivars
were harvested and the oils contents and constituents determined by hydrodistillation and GC/MS analysis, respectively.
The aim of this study was to cope with the fact that after
recent relentless extraction of seeds obtained from wild, the
plant has been forced into the endangered category. The prime
cause of depletion has been found to be the thoughtless and
unscientific commercial collection of its seeds (a.o. in Iran)
for rapid financial gains. The competition for its seeds is so
severe that, instead of collecting the ripe seed, the entire plant
is removed even when the seeds are immature.
Medicinal plants are a living resource, exhaustible if
overused and sustainable if used with care and wisdom. At
present 95% of the collection of medicinal plants is from wild
habitats. Current practices of harvesting are unsustainable
and many studies have highlighted depletion of the resource
base. Several medicinal plants have been assessed as endangered, vulnerable and threatened due to over harvesting or
unskillful harvesting in the wild. The other main source of
medicinal plants is from cultivation. Cultivated material is
infinitely more appropriate for use in the production of drugs.
Indeed, standardization whether for pure products, extracts
or crude drugs are critical and while become increasingly so,
as quality requirements continue to become more stringent.
Excessive collection from the wild has resulted in significant
erosion of the plant. Field cultivation is necessary for inhibition of this process.
*Address for correspondence
Received: May 2007
Revised: June 2007
1041-2905/09/0001-078$14.00/0—© 2009 Allured Business Media
78/Journal of Essential Oil Research
Accepted: July 2007
Vol. 21, January/February 2009
B. persicum
Table I. Physicochemical properties of the soil of the cultivation site of Bunium persicum (Feiz Abad)
K (ppm)
P (ppm)
N (ppm)
OC (%)
EC (dS/m)
pH
Soil texture
147
9.3
300
0.62
1.3
7.7
Sandy loam
OC = Organic content; EC = Electrical conductivity; dS/m = Desi simence/meter (the dimension of electrical conductivity of soil).
Table II. Environmental conditions of wild population of Bunium persicum and of its cultivation site
Place
Wild population site
Cultivation site
Latitude
Altitude
Min temp
Max temp
Precipitation
(North degree)
m
(°C/year)
(°C/year)
(mm/year)
Kalat-e-Nader
Mountains
34°3’–37°5’
2850
-20
+20
320
Feiz Abad
34°4’–35°8’
1000
-12
+40
185
Name of site
In this research we conducted a field experiment to find
out the possible field production and establishment of the
plant in Iran and to study the change in content and chemical
composition of its oils during field propagation. In parallel we
investigated the most suitable time for harvesting and phenology of the plant during the period 1999–2004.
Experimental
Plant material: The wild sample material of Bunium persicum [Boiss.], Fedtsch (Apiaceae) was collected in June 1999
from the Kalat-e-Nader Mountain in the Khorasan province
of Iran and dried in the shade at about 25°C. The cultivated
seeds were collected after 4 years (2003, CY1) and 5 years
(2004, CY2) from Feiz Abad. Voucher specimens have been
deposited (#24018 ¨FUMH¨) at the Herbarium of the Ferdowsi
University of Mashhad.
Wild collected seeds with eliminated weak and unripe seeds
were selected for cultivation in the open field (1 Dec) in rows
of 50 cm apart and in 2 cm depth of the soil and irrigated. The
seeding density was 3 g/m2. The physicochemical properties
of the field soil (Feiz Abad) and the environmental conditions
are shown in Table I and in Table II.
Essential oil: Isolation procedure: The oil sample was
isolated from 16.0 g of freshly ground (1 min in an IKA mill
M20) seed material by hydrodistillation for 4 h in 300 mL water,
according to the determination of the oil content in vegetable
drugs, using the apparatus described in the Nederlandse
Farmacopee, 6th edition, 2nd printing (4). Xylene (100 mL) was
used as the collection liquid, and the oil was stored at -20°C
until analyzed. The oil was diluted 50 times with cyclohexane
prior to GC and GC/MS analysis.
In addition, the oil was separated into two fractions with
hydrocarbons and oxygen-containing compounds, respectively,
by eluting 250 mL of oil on a Bakerbond SPE column, filled
with 1 g of silica gel (#7086-07, J.T. Baker, Deventer, The
Netherlands), with subsequently 5 mL hexane and 5 mL diethyl
ether. After gentle evaporation of the solvents of both fractions,
Vol. 21, January/February 2009
50 mL of each residue were diluted with 950 mL cyclohexane
and submitted to GC and GC/MS analysis.
Gas chromatography: GC analysis was performed on a
Hewlett-Packard 5890 Series II gas chromatograph equipped
with a 7673 injector and a Hewlett Packard 3365 Series
II Chemstation, under the following conditions: column,
WCOT fused-silica (J&W) DB-5 (30 m x 0.26 mm; film
thickness 0.25 mm); oven temperature program, 60–290°C
at 3°C/min; injector temperature, 250°C; detector (FID)
temperature, 300°C; carrier gas, He; inlet pressure, 18
psi; linear gas velocity, 31.8 cm/s; split ratio, 56:1; injected
volume, 1.0 mL.
Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry: A Shimadzu
GC/MS QP5000 system was used equipped with a GC-17A
gas chromatograph, an AOC-20i auto injector, and GC/MS
solution version 1.10 software. The GC conditions were: column, WCOT fused-silica (J & W) DB-5 (30 m x 0.26 mm; film
thickness 0.25 mm); oven temperature program, 60–240°C at
3°C/min; injector temperature, 275°C; carrier gas, He; inlet
pressure, 75 pKa; linear gas velocity, 81.4 cm/s; column flow,
2.5 mL/min; total flow, 56.7 mL/min; split ratio, 21:1; injected
volume, 1.0 mL. MS conditions: ionization energy, 70 eV; ion
source temperature, 250°C; interface temperature, 250°C;
scan speed, 3 scans/s; mass range, 34–350 u.
The identity of the components was assigned by comparison
of their retention indices, relative to C9-C16 n-alkanes, mass
spectral databases and from the literature (5–7). The percentages of the components were calculated from the GC peak
areas, using the normalization method.
Results and Discussion
The oil content of the WT (9.1% v/w) was higher than
the oil content of the CY1 (6.2% v/w), and CY2 (5.1% v/w)
cultivated plants of Bunium persicum. The percentage monoterpene hydrocarbon fraction of all three investigated samples
was comparable, with 95.4% (WT), 94.9% (CY1) and 55.7%
(CY2) of the total oil. g-Terpinene was the main monoterpene
Journal of Essential Oil Research/79
Kayser et al.
Table III. Composition of the fruit oils of Bunium persicum wild type (WT), first (CY1) and second year (CY2) cultivation
Name
a-thujene
a-pinene
camphene
sabinene
b-pinene
myrcene
d-3-carene
isosylvestrene
p-cymene
limonene
1.8-cineole
(Z)-b-ocimene
g-terpinene
3-methylbenzaldehyde
cis-sabinene hydrate
terpinolene
linalool
trans-sabinene hydrate
borneol
terpinen-4-ol
a–terpineol
m-cuminol
p-cuminaldehyde
trans-o-menth-2-en-7-ol
perillaldehyde
bornyl acetate
a-terpinen-7-al
g-terpinen-7-al
thymol
9-epi-b-caryophyllene
germacrene D
ar-curcumene
zingiberene
(EE)-a-farnesene
b-sesquiphellandrene
Identiied (%)
Grouped components
Monoterpene hydrocarbons
Oxygen-containing monoterpenes
Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons
Oil yield (% v/w)
RIa
WT(%)
CY1(%)
CY2(%)
925
932
946
970
975
990
1002
1013
1019
1025
1026
1037
1055
1059
1061
1085
1093
1095
1162
1170
1189
1217
1231
1261
1266
1281
1280
1287
1289
1413
1474
1476
1490
1503
1518
0.4
1.0
0.1
1.2
1.6
1.0
trb
0.3
8.0
2.0
2.9
0.1
4.2
tr
tr
0.7
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.4
tr
tr
16.9
0.2
0.2
2.9
0.4
10.5
0.1
tr
0.1
tr
tr
tr
0.1
95.6
0.5
1.5
0.2
1.2
2.2
1.2
tr
0.3
9.5
2.5
5.3
tr
0.8
tr
tr
0.9
0.1
0.1
tr
0.1
tr
tr
14.1
0.1
0.1
2.1
0.7
10.6
0.1
tr
0.2
0.1
0.2
0.2
0.1
95.0
0.5
1.3
0.1
1.1
2.1
1.1
tr
0.2
9.4
2.4
4.9
0.1
6.8
tr
tr
0.6
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.4
tr
tr
11.8
0.1
0.1
3.3
0.5
18.7
0.1
tr
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
96.4
60.6
34.6
0.2
9.1
60.8
33.4
0.8
6.2
55.7
35.3
0.5
5.1
Retention index relative to C9-C16 n-alkanes on the DB-5 column; btrace (< 0.05%)
a
hydrocarbon with 44.2% (WT), 40.8% (CY1) and 36.8% (CY2).
The p-cymene content was 8.0% (WT), 9.5% (CY1) and 9.4%
(CY2).
Also the oxygen-containing monoterpene content was
comparable with 34.8%, 33.4%, and 35.3% for the WT, CY1,
and CY2, respectively. Cuminaldehyde in the cultivated plants
decreased from 14.1% in the first year, to 11.8% in the second
year. The WT contained 16.9% cuminaldehyde. g-Terpinen-7-al
(p-mentha-1,4-dien-7-al) was present in the highest amount in
CY2 (18.7%), where WT and CT1 contained lower amounts:
10.5% and 10.6%, respectively.
One unknown oxygen-containing monoterpene with a
retention index (RI) of 1187 was detected in all samples,
but could not be identified. Based on a comparison of the
80/Journal of Essential Oil Research
mass fragmentation pattern of this component with perillaldehyde (RI 1266), the unknown compound is likely to
be an isomer. This unknown component was present with
1.9% (WT), 1.3% (CY1) and 0.6% (CY2). The amount of
perillaldehyde present was much lower, with 0.2% (WT) and
0.1% (CY1 and CY2). The mass fragmentation pattern of the
unknown aldehyde was: m/z (rel. int.): 152[M] + (32), 136(3),
121(30), 109(79), 91(37), 81(87), 79(85), 67(74), 39(58),
43(76), 41(100). The sesquiterpene hydrocarbon content
in all investigated material was less than 1.0%, whereas no
oxygenated-sesquiterpenes hydrocarbons could be detected.
A complete overview of the identified constituents is given
in Table III.
In the literature a number of studies on the essential oil
Vol. 21, January/February 2009
B. persicum
content and constituents of B. persicum have been reported.
Thappa et al. (8) found almost the same amounts of gterpinene (25.6–42.9%), and significant higher amounts of
p-cymene (24.0–27.8%) in the wild source of Bunium persicum
and less aldehydes compared to our results. In the seeds from
cultivated sources, they found high amounts of cuminaldehyde
(27.3–34.1%), p-mentha-1,3-dien-7-al and p-mentha-1,4dien-7-al (29.6–36.8%). Our investigations showed a higher
amount of g-terpinene (44.2%) but much lower p-cymene
content (8.0%) in the wild type. The cuminaldehyde content
in our investigated cultivars CY1 and CY2 were much lower,
with 14.1% and 11.8%, respectively. Also our a-terpinen-7al (p-mentha-1,3-dien-7-al, 0.5%–0.7%) and g-terpinen-7-al
(p-mentha-1,4-dien-7-al, 10.6–18.7%) content is much lower
than in the study of Thappa et al. (8).
Sadykov et al. (9) investigated the essential oil (yield 2.5%)
and described p-cymene (19.2%) and cuminaldehyde (40.7%)
as the main components. Minor components were a- and bpinene, limonene, camphor, acetic, propionic, butyric, oleic,
and benzoic acid. The amount of the main components is
significantly higher (8.0–9.4% for p-cymene, and 11.8–16.9%
for cuminaldehyde) than in our study.
Fruits of Pakistani origin Bunium persicum yielded between 5.3% and 7.1% oil (10). The main components were
g-terpinene (19.8–28.9%), cuminaldehyde (14.8–22.5%),
p-cymene (12.4–32.8%), p-mentha-1,3-dien-7-al (4.8–7.2%),
and p-mentha-1,4-dien-7-al (3.5–11.2%). One chemotype did
not contain any aldehydes, but p-cymene (41.1%), g-terpinene
(24%), linalool (16%), dillapiol (4%), and limonene (3.6%)
were the main components (10).
Ripe fruits, collected in Tajikistan (7.3% oil) contained
cuminaldehyde (40.7%) and p-cymene (19.2%) as the main
components. Fruits from Kulob (Tajikistan) yielded 3.3% oil.
Here p-mentha-1,4-dien-7-al (29.0%), g-terpinene (27.7%),
b-pinene (15.6%), cuminaldehyde (11.7%) and p-mentha-1,3dien-7-al (5.1%) were the main components (2).
The results from our studies thus differ substantially from
these earlier studies reported in the literature.
According to Foroumadi, fruits from wild sources, collected
from Siriz to Zarand (Kerman province, Iran) yielded 3.1% oil.
In this oil 25 components were identified. The main components
were cuminaldehyde (27.0%), g-terpinene (25.8%), p-cymene
(12.1%) and cumin alcohol (6.0%). Our results are more in
agreement with this study, although the oil content we found
was considerably higher (9.1%). In addition, g-terpinen-7-al
was not detected (11).
The most recent study on B. persicum from Iran is
the paper by Pourmortazavi et al. (3). They investigated
the differences in oil constituents obtained by solid phase
extraction (SPE) and hydrodistillation. Remarkable differences were found between the quantitative amounts of
the components. a-Methyl-benzenemethonol was present
in these samples, but we could not detect this component
in our experiments. Most of the components are present
in a higher amount in the hydrodistillation sample. The
amount of g-terpinene (45.7–44.2% (WT)) and cuminaldehyde (12.7–16.9% (WT)) was more in agreement with
our results. Remarkable is the absence of a-terpinen-7-al
as well as g-terpinen-7-al in both samples where we found
Vol. 21, January/February 2009
10.5% in the WT.
Seed oil (7.3%) from India contained a-pinene (1.5%), bpinene, a combination of p-cymene, limonene, phellandrene
and cineole (34.0%), g-terpinene (43.6%), cuminaldehyde
(9.4%), and a combination of 1,3-p-menthadiene-7-al and
1,4-p-menthadienal (8.7%) (12). These results are in agreement with our results.
The oil composition and pharmacological activity of the
oil were investigated by Khaidarov et al. Thirteen components
were identified. p-Cymene and cuminaldehyde were isolated.
Other identified components were lactic acid, acetic acid,
benzoic acid, oleic acid, camphor, a-pinene, thymol, citronellol, b-pinene, and limonene (13). No concentrations for these
identified components are given.
The main components of B. persicum oil investigated in
1994 (14) were myrtenal (24.2%), cuminaldehyde (29.8%)
and safranal (22.3%). Other components identified were
p-cymene (2.8%), b-pinene (0.2%), limonene (0.9%), apinene (10.4%), thymol (1.1%), perilla alcohol (5.0%),
terpinene-4-ol (1.0%) and g-cadinene (1.4%). Remarkable is
the difference in composition of this oil in comparison with
our investigations and other results from the literature. The
authors may have investigated another Bunium species or
another chemotype.
The antioxidative activity of four oils from the Umbelliferae family from Pakistan has been investigated without
any remarks concerning the composition of these oils. The
authors investigated among others B. cylindricum and B.
persicum (15). The seeds of B. cylindricum are mainly used
as an adulterant of B. persicum (15). The main components
of the white seed oil of B. cylindricum (1.4%) were limonene
(13.7%), myristicin (67.2%) and cuminaldehyde (2.1%). The
main components of the black seed oil of B. cylindricum
(1.8%) were b-selinene (10.9%), cadinene (13.4%), dillapiol
(11.0%), elemicin (39.3%) and myristicin (4.1%) (16). The
differences between these oils and the B. persicum oil can
be a marker for adulterants.
From our study and after comparison with previously
conducted research on the oil composition of B. persicum
fruit oil, it can be concluded that big differences appear to
exist indicating the possible occurence of chemotypes in
this species. Differences may be ascribed both to genetical
variation (existence of chemotypes) and to environmentally
determined fluctuation (soil, climate). These results are of
importance not only for the taste but also for the use as spice.
Further investigations should be undertaken to obtain a
spice with a constant high quality. A monograph on Bunium
persicum fruits and fruit oil, in which quality parameters are
defined, is to be compiled. Till now, there is no monograph
about B. persicum in Iran.
Phenology
From the wild population the tuberous roots start to grow
as soon as the snow is melting in March, and the fruits are
collected after flowering in the same year.
Stratification of the seeds was necessary for successful
germination. After seeding in the field in December, weak
cotyledon leaves were produced after 62 days. Detection of
Journal of Essential Oil Research/81
Kayser et al.
the seedling from weeds is very difficult. In early June the
seedling dries and disappears. It switches over to dormancy
till November (during the dry period of the year) but it forms
a very small tuberous root (0.1–1 g) in the ground surface
(10 cm depth), After that period it re-grows in the middle
of November and produced a true leaf in March and tuberous roots growth in the soil. Finally it can produce flowering
stems 4–5 years after seed cultivation. As a result we showed
that after seed germination in early March, in four years a
tuberous root can grow to a diameter of 4 cm and can produce
flowering stems.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
References
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
M. Azizi. Bunium persicum Essential Oils Suppressed Potato Sprouting in
Storage. Proceedings of the 36th International Symposium on Essential
Oils, 4–7 September, Budapest, Hungary (2005).
K.H.C. Baser, T. Özek, B.E. Abduganiev, U.A. Abdullaev and K.N. Aripov,
Composition of the Essential Oil of Bunium persicum (Boiss.) B. Fedtsch.
from Tajikistan. J. Essent. Oil Res., 9, 597–598 (1997).
S.M. Pourmortazavi, M. Ghandiri and S.S. Hajimirsadeghi, Supercritical
Fluid Extraction of Volatile Components from Bunium persicum Boiss.
(Black Cumin) and Mespilus germanica L. (Medlar) Seeds. J. Food Com.
Anal., 18, 439–446 (2005).
Anonymous, Nederlandse Farmacopee. 6th Edn., 2nd printing, p. 72,
Staatsuitgeverij, ‘s-Gravenhage, The Netherlands (1966).
R.P. Adams, Identification of Essential Oil Components by Gas
Chromatography/Mass Spectroscopy. Allured Publ. Corp., Carol Stream,
IL (2001).
D. Joulain, W.A. König, The Atlas of Spectral Data of Sesquiterpene
82/Journal of Essential Oil Research
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
Hydrocarbons. E.B-Verlag, Hamburg, Germany (1998).
Flavor & Fragrance Library Shimadzu Benelux, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The
Netherlands (2003).
R.K. Thappa, S. Ghosh, S.G. Agarwal, A.K. Raina and P.S. Jamwal,
Comparative Studies on the Major Volatiles of Kalazira (Bunium persicum
Seed) of Wild and Cultivated Sources. Food Chem., 41, 129–134
(1991).
Y.D. Sadykov, M. Kurbanov, K. Khavizov and Y.M. Regovatov, Composition
of the Essential Oil from Fruits of Bunium persicum (Boiss.) B. Fedtsh.
Dokl. Akad. Nauk Tadzh. SSR., 21(5), 33–36 (1978).
A. Karim, M. Pervez and M.K. Bhatty, Studies on the Essential Oils of the
Pakistani Species of the Familie Umbelliferae, part 10. Bunium persicum
Boiss. (Sah Zira) Seed Oil. Pakistan J. Sci. Ind. Res., 20(2), 106–108
(1977).
A. Foroumadi, A. Asadipour, F. Arabpour and Y. Amanzadeh, Composition
of the Essential Oil of Bunium persicum (Boiss.) B. Fedtsch. from Iran. J.
Essent. Oil Res., 14, 161–162 (2002).
N.B. Shankaracharya and M.L. Shankaranarayana, Research Note on the
Essential Oil of Cuminum cyminum L. and Bunium persicum B. Pafai J.,
10(4), 33–35 (1988).
K.H. Khaidarov, Y.D. Sadykov, L.D. Lebedeva and M.B. Ismailova,
Composition and Pharmacological Activity of Essential Oil Derived from
Bunium persicum (Boiss.) B. Fedsch Fruits. Khim.-Farm. Zh., 25(9), 73–75
(1991).
B.E. Abduganiev, Y.V. Rashkes and V.N. Pluger, Gas ChromatographicMass Spectrometric Analysis of the Essential Oil of Bunium persicum
Fruits. Khim. Prir. Soedin, 2, 292–294 (1994).
R. Jamil, M. Ahmad, M.A. Saeed and M. Younas, Antioxidative Activity of
Essential Oils of some Species of Umbelliferae Family of Pakistan: Part
I. J. Chem. Soc. Pak., 13(1), 56–59 (1991).
A. Karim, M. Ashraf, B. Muhammad and K. Muhammad, Studies on the
Essential Oils of the Pakistani Species of the Family Umbelliferae: Part
XXXVIII. Bunium cylindricum, (Boiss & Hoh). Pak. J. Sci. Ind. Res., 22(6),
315–317 (1979).
Vol. 21, January/February 2009