Major volatile compounds in the essential oil of the aromatic culinary herb Pelargonium crispum (Geraniaceae)

Year 2018, Volume: 5 Issue: 1, 23 - 28, 23.03.2018

Nicholas J. Sadgrove , Ben-erik Van Wyk

Abstract

The aromatic culinary herb Pelargonium crispum is used as a
condiment across the world to confer a lemony aroma to food. The phytochemistry
of one cultivar of unknown origin has been tentatively described in earlier
studies, with only the dominant volatile components assigned as neral and
geranial and with chrysin as the major flavone. In the current study a more
detailed chemistry of the essential oils is given, and the major flavanone in
the leaves is assigned as (2S)-(-)-pinocembrin, a dihydro derivative of chrysin.
The predominance of neral and geranial is confirmed and a number of related
oxide and phenylpropanoid ester derivatives are assigned. A major outcome is
the realization that the wild specimens sampled by us displays different
chemistry to the chemotype previously described

Keywords

Neral, geranial, (2S)-(-)-pinocembrin, phytochemistry

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