【Essential Oil Science】Analysis of Chamomile Essential Oil

May 30, 2021

【Essential Oil Science】Analysis of Chamomile Essential Oil

Chamomile (Matricaria recutita) is an annual or perennial herb of the genus Matricaria in the Asteraceae family. It is an important spice plant and medicinal plant. It is divided into Roman chamomile (Anthemis nobilis) and German chamomile (Matricaria) due to the difference in origin and efficacy. chamomilia). Chamomile is native to Europe and is also grown in Xinjiang, China.

Chamomile essential oil is a greasy liquid extracted from chamomile flowers or the whole plant, and is mostly obtained by distillation. Roman chamomile essential oil and German chamomile essential oil are different in character and flavor due to whether they contain an important anti-infective ingredient-chamomile oil hydrocarbon (Matricaria azulene). Chamomile essential oil has outstanding medicinal value. It can relieve patients' inflammation and pain symptoms, and improve insomnia caused by neuropathic skin itching. It also has anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, lipid-lowering, and depressive effects. Heat rash also has good curative effects and is widely used in medicines, health products, flavors and fragrances, cosmetics, food and other fields.
At present, there are many studies on the physiological activity and pharmaceutical properties of chamomile essential oil. There are relatively few reports on the aroma components of chamomile essential oil, and most of them are concentrated on the analysis of the volatile constituents of Roman chamomile essential oil, and different parts of the plant, different origins, and different extractions. Methods and different detection methods of the volatile components of chamomile Essential Oils have been carefully studied. However, comparative analysis of the volatile components of Roman chamomile and German chamomile essential oils is rarely reported. There is also a lack of analysis and evaluation of the aroma performance of chamomile essential oils, which greatly limits Utilization and development of chamomile resources. There are few reports on the application of chamomile essential oil in beverages.

The author uses gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to analyze the volatile components of Roman chamomile and German chamomile essential oils extracted by steam distillation, and analyzes the aroma properties of essential oils with sensory evaluation methods. At the same time, preliminary exploration and research on its application performance in beverages.

Volatile aroma components of chamomile essential oil
GC-MS analysis

The yields of Roman chamomile and German chamomile essential oils were 1.68% and 0.25%, respectively. Both essential oils were viscous oils, the former was yellow or light yellow, and the latter was darker blue. The total ion current diagrams of the volatile components of Roman chamomile and German chamomile essential oils are shown in Figure 1. After searching by computer mass spectrometry data system, using the NIST 2017 database, the peak area normalization method is used for quantification. Some compounds are qualitatively based on standard materials and self-built databases. Refer to the relevant literature for qualitative analysis of the detected components, and at the same time, use deconvolution technology to analyze the data of the co-current peaks to more accurately match the chemical components of volatile substances. The composition of volatile components of chamomile essential oil is shown in Table 1.

A total of 49 volatile components were identified in the two essential oils. The volatile components are mainly terpenes, alcohols, esters, and a small amount of ketones, acids, heterocyclics, aldehydes and aromatic compounds. The classification and proportion of volatile components of chamomile essential oil are shown in Figure 2. Esters, alcohols and terpenes are the main components of the volatile components of the two essential oils of chamomile. The three types of substances account for 68.98% (Roman chamomile) and 64.53% (German chamomile) of the total volatile components of the two essential oils. Among them, the content of esters in the two essential oils exceeds 30%, accounting for 30.99% and 33.56% respectively. Roman chamomile essential oil contains more alcohols, with a content of 21.58%, and only 14.46% in German chamomile oil. There is no significant difference in the content of terpenes in the two essential oils, accounting for 16.41% and 16.51% respectively. The content of ketones, aldehydes and aromatics in the two essential oils is relatively small, less than 0.5% of the total. The acid content of German chamomile essential oil is 0.32%, which is higher than the 0.10% of Roman chamomile essential oil. The content of linear alkane components in German chamomile is 0.12%, and no such components are detected in Roman chamomile.

1. Volatile components of Roman chamomile essential oil

A total of 43 volatile components in Roman chamomile essential oil have been effectively identified. Among them, the number of esters is the largest, with 18 species, and 11 terpenes have been identified, while the number of identified alcohols is relatively small, with only 4. However, the content accounts for 21.58% of the total volatile components. There is only one ketone and acid component, and two aldehydes, heterocyclic compounds and aromatic compounds each have been identified.

The highest content of the essential oil of Roman chamomile is trans-rosinol, which has the smell of camphor and pine, accompanied by woody and fresh mint-like cool fragrance, followed by allyl ester of titagate and 2-methyl. Cyclopropane-1-ethyl formate and α-pinene, the first two have a soft fruity aroma, with a delicate fragrance of raw fruits or berries, while the latter has a resinous and turpentine odor. The content of isobutyl isobutyrate, isoamyl isobutyrate and camphene is also high, exceeding 2.00% of the total. Camphene has a camphor-like aroma; isobutyl isobutyrate has a pineapple-like aroma with ether aroma; isoamyl isobutyrate has a sweet aroma like apricots, pineapples and peaches, and is commonly used in fruit products. additive. Hexanal with fruity and delicate fragrance, butyl isobutyrate with fruity apple-like fragrance, isoamyl acetate with the smell of banana, β-pinene with the smell of turpentine, woody and rosin, with floral and earthy smells Or rose-scented linalool, with pine wood, camphor wood-like aroma, cooling sensation of camphorenal and camphol acetate, as well as floral, green, or balsam-like aromas, or lemon, citrus-like or irritating The aroma of α-copaene, α-apigenene, α-farnesene, oxycaryophyllene and δ-cadinene are all identified in the essential oil of Roman chamomile, but the content is relatively small. Chamomile oil hydrocarbons were not detected in Roman chamomile essential oil.

2. Volatile components of German chamomile essential oil
46 volatile components were identified in German chamomile essential oil. Similar to Roman chamomile essential oil, esters and terpenes are the most abundant volatile components, with 16 and 12 respectively, and 5 alcohols, 3 Two kinds of acids have been identified, and the remaining ketones, aldehydes, heterocyclics and aromatic compounds are less in number, no more than 2, and two straight-chain alkanes have been identified.

Like Roman chamomile, the four highest content components in German chamomile essential oil are trans-rosinol, α-pinene, allyl titanate and ethyl 2-methylcyclopropane-1-carboxylate, but The content of the former two is less than Roman chamomile essential oil, while the latter two are just the opposite. The high content of isobutyl isobutyrate, isoamyl isobutyrate and camphene can also be detected in the essential oil of German chamomile, as well as the lower content of hexanal, butyl isobutyrate, isoamyl acetate and linalole. Volatile components such as alcohol, camphorenal, camphoryl acetate, and α-copaene. The celery-like aroma of cis-carvol and important biologically active substances, chamomile oil hydrocarbons, and two acids (hexadecanoic acid and linoleic acid) have been identified in German chamomile essential oil, but they have not been identified in Roman chamomile The sweet, fruity or aromatic ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, isobutyl isovalerate and p-isopropyl toluene. The difference in the composition and ratio of volatile components will be fed back to the aroma characteristics, presenting different flavor characteristics of essential oils.

The aromas of Roman chamomile and German chamomile essential oils all have medicinal, floral, earthy, spicy, powdery, fruity, sweet, oily and boiled flavors. The overall flavor profile is relatively similar, and the individual aroma attributes are somewhat similar. difference. Roman chamomile essential oil has a clear medicinal scent, a floral fragrance, accompanied by earthy and spicy irritation, the middle part has a powdery fragrance, and the whole has a slight fruity and sweet fragrance, while the German chamomile essential oil has a slight floral and powdery fragrance. It is weak, and has a strong and irritating earthy and spicy taste. The fruity aroma is slightly lighter, but it has a strong sweet aroma. The oily intensity of the two is similar. Because the two essential oils are prepared by distillation, both have a boiled taste.
The appearance of the herbal scent of the two essential oils may be related to the presence of trans-rosinol, camphene, α-pinene, camphorenal and bornyl acetate, which have a high content of volatile components. They all have or are fresh The aroma of peppermint, or the flavor like camphor and turpentine, and the presence of allyl acid, 2-methylcyclopropane-1-ethyl formate and other esters are beneficial to the presentation of the sweetness of the essential oil. The presence of terpenes and alcohols such as linalool is conducive to the penetration, display and release of floral fragrance in essential oils.

Based on the analysis of the volatile components of the two essential oils and the results of the aroma performance evaluation, it can be seen that Roman chamomile essential oil has a more transparent medicinal fragrance, an elegant and prominent floral fragrance, and a rich and smart fruity sweet fragrance. The irritation is weaker than that of German chamomile essential oil, and the yield of essential oil is significantly higher than that of German chamomile essential oil, and the cost is more advantageous. Therefore, Roman chamomile essential oil was selected for exploration and preparation of related beverages.

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