[EXTRACTION OF

ESSENTIAL OILS
PRESENT IN
ANISEED, CAROM
,CARDAMON]

INTRODUCTION
We are all familiar with the pleasant odours coming out from flowers,
spices and many trees. The essence or aromas of plants are due to
volatile oils present in them. These smelling volatile oils present in
plants are called essential oils. Cinnamon, clove, cumin, eucalyptus,
garlic, jasmine, peppermint, rose, sandalwood, spearmint, thyme,
wintergreen are a few familiar examples of valuable essential oils. The
term essential oils literally means oils derived from the essence of
plants. Essential oils are mainly used for their pleasant odours and
flavours in perfumes and as flavouring agents in foods. Some are used
in medicines (e.g., camphor, wintergreen, eucalyptus) others as insect
repellents (e.g., citronella).
Chemically essential oils are composed of complex mixtures of ester,
alcohols, phenols, aldehydes, ketones and hydrocarbons. They are
essentially non-polar compounds and are thus soluble in non-polar
solvents such as petroleum ether, benzene etc. Essential oils may occur
in all parts of the plant, but they are often concentrated in the seeds or
flowers. They are obtained from the plants by the process of steam
distillation and extraction. The technique of steam distillation permits
the separation of volatile components from non-volatile materials
without raising the temperature of the distillation above 100 C. Thus
steam distillation reduces the risk of decomposition of essential oils.
ANISEED ESSENTIAL OIL
Aniseed, on steam distillation, yields an essential oil, known as `Oil of
Aniseed`, which has now replaced the fruits for medicinal and
flavouring purposes. Aniseed oil is a colourless or pale-yellow liquid
having the characteristic odour and taste of the fruit. The yield of oil
generally varies from 1.9 to 3.1 per cent. Higher values up to 6 per cent
have been reported from Syrian aniseed. Crushing of fruits prior to
distillation gives better yields of oil. The material should be distilled
soon after the crushing to prevent any loss of oil due to evaporation.
Aniseed oil is a highly refractive liquid, which solidifies on cooling. The
congealing point depends much on the anethole content and is a
valuable criterion for evaluating the oil. Exposure of the oil to air
causes polymerization, and some oxidation also takes place with the
formation of anisaldehyde and anisic acid. The chief constituent of
aniseed oil is anethole, which is present to the extent of 80 to 90 per
cent and is mainly responsible for the characteristic flavour of the oil.
The oil also contains methyl chavicol, p-methoxyphenyl acetone, and
small amount of terpenes and sulphur containing compounds of
disagreeable odour.

Aniseed Essential Oil

Common Method of Extraction:- Steam Distillation

Colour:- Clear
Botanical Name:- Pimpinella anisum
Aromatic Description :- Distinctive scent of licorice. Rich and
sweet.
Constituents: - a-pinene, camphene, B-pinene, linalool, cisanethole, trans-anethole, safrole, anisaldehyde, acetoanisole.
Uses of Aniseed Oil:In aromatherapy, aniseed essential oil is used to treat colds and
flu.
Aniseed oil can be made into a liquid scent and is used for both
hunting and fishing. It is put on fishing lures to attract fish.
Anethole, the principal component of anise oil, is a precursor that
can eventually produce 2,5-dimethoxybenzaldehyde which is can
be used in the clandestine synthesis of psychedelic drugs such as
2C-B, 2C-I and DOB.
Oil of aniseed is also reported to be used as an aromatic
carminative to relieve flatulence, and as an ingredient of cough
lozenges in combination with liquorice.
Essential oil is also used externally as an insecticide against small
insects such as head lice, mites and vermin. It also has fungicidal
properties.

Carom essential oil:

Carom seeds are also known as ajwain, Thymol seeds, Onum , Ajma ,
Ajmodika and bishops weed. They are the tiny, cute, delicate and oval
shaped herbs with a penetrating fragrance. Carom seed belongs to the
family of cumin and parsley. These seeds have been used since years as
they consists number of medical properties. Because of their strong
aroma, carom seeds are highly used for the Indian culinary.
Carom seeds are sharp and hot with the burning taste, thats why few
seeds are enough to bring the flavour in any Indian recipe. Carom seeds
can be whole or powdered one. It is always advisable to buy whole
carom seeds as they can be easily turned into powder form just by
grinding them in a smooth powder.

Uses:
These seeds are used for the tempering or tadkas in the dishes.

Ajwain has strong, dominant and distinctive taste and flavour, thats
why few seeds are enough to bring exotic fragrance to the vegetarian
and non-veg food.
Ajwain can be used for making pickles as well.
The aroma and unique taste of ajwain is used for making various types
of rotis, paranthas, and theplas and so on.
They are specially used in different types of meat, snack recipes and dal
recipes to enhance the flavour.
Soups, stocks and stews can be flavoured with few seeds of ajwain.
Ajwain are highly incorporated for making various salad dressings and
Indian bakery items.

Cardamom seeds:
Cardamom provides a warming and stimulating tonic .Cardamom is also
an excellent choice for the digestive system. I am sure I dont have to
tell you that Cardamom is greatly admired and extensively used as a
culinary spice all over the world.
You can also try a gargle with Cardamom if you suffer with halitosis
(bad breath). Why not try 1 drop Cardamom and one drop of
Peppermint in a small amount of water as an effective way to freshen
your breath!
If your energy is waning, perhaps in the middle of the afternoon, when
you still have a mountain of work to do, try inhaling cardamom to perk
you up. It will help to relieve your mental fatigue and improve your
concentration.
On a spiritual level, Cardamom helps you to establish true and strong
bonds with others on the spiritual pathway.

Uses for Cardamom : Smoothies Add some cardamom to fruit smoothies to give
them an extra edge. It doesnt matter what flavour the basic smoothie
is in fact, the more exotic the better. Mango, pineapple and guava are
particularly good matches for this heady spice.

Fruit loaves If you want to jazz up your banana bread

or add a bit of life to your tired fruit loaf recipe, then a
touch of ground cardamom will make a world of difference.
Just add the spice when you are mixing in the rest of the dry
ingredients and you will get a lovely warm, rich flavour from
the finished loaf.
Bread As with fruit loaves, a sprinkling of
cardamom will do wonders for your bread rolls and loaves.
Dont worry about the cardamom turning savoury breads

into sweet; the spice will just a hint of warmth to the flavour
and you can add as little or as much as you like, depending
on taste.
Puddings Many desserts benefit from the addition
of cardamom rice pudding works especially well, but you
could also try adding a little ground cardamom to ice cream,
set custards, yogurt, and baked fruit.
Casseroles A few pods added to a casserole dish will give
a lamb, chicken or vegetable casserole an extra zing and
makes a great entertaining or moving house meal.
Rice A lot of people a couple of bruised cardamom
cloves to the pan when they cook rice. It adds a subtle
flavour to the rice, which works really well with Indian
curries and vegetable dishes. You can do with any kind of
rice basmati, brown, white, etc. and it also works well with
rice dishes like pilaff and biryani.
Roast meat
Cardamom is strong enough to hold its
own with any grilled or roasted meat and yet it only adds to, and
never detracts from, the main flavor of the recipe. Try adding a
few pods to the roasting pan. The juices will make fantastic gravy
once the meat has cooked.
Soups Spices always work well with soup, but have
you tried cardamom yet? As it works equally well with sweet and
savoury dishes, you can experiment with any kind of soup try it with
carrot and coriander, or a chunky root vegetable soup.

Tea Yes, thats right; a couple of cardamom pods

can transform a cup of tea into an exotic drink. Chai tea traditionally
includes cardamom, as well as a number of other spices, but you can
create your own drink based on your favourite flavours. Hot milk has a
natural affinity to warm spicy ingredients and cardamom is no
exception. Cardamom tea recipe.
REQUIREMENTS:Steam generator (Copper Vessel), round bottom flask (500 ml), conical
flask, condenser, glass tubes, iron stand, sand bath, separatory funnel,

tripod stands, burners, Ajwain(Carum), Petroleum ether(60-80C),

Saunf(Aniseed) .
PROCEDURE:Set the apparatus as shown in the picture of Experimental Setup. The
apparatus consists of a steam generator connected to the round bottom
flask through a glass inlet tube. The flask is connected to a water
condenser through a glass outlet tube. Condenser is further attached to
a receiver through an adaptor. Take about 750 ml of water in the steam
generator and start heating to produce steam. In the round bottom
flask take about 75 gm. of crushed saunf. A vigorous current of steam
from steam generator is passed through the round bottom flask. A part
of the steam condenses in the round bottom flask. As more and more
steam is passed, the steam volatile components of saunf pass through
the condenser along with steam. These contents on condensation are
collected in the receiver. The contents in the round bottom flask may be
heated by a Bunsen burner to prevent excessive condensation of steam.
The process of steam distillation is continued for about half an hour.
Transfer the distillate to a separating funnel and extract with 20 ml
portions of petroleum ether 3 times. Combine the petroleum ether
extracts in a 250 ml conical flask and dry it with the help of anhydrous
sodium sulphate. Remove the solvent from the dried filtrate by careful
distillation in a water bath. The essential oil is left behind in the
distillation flask. Find the weight of the extracted essential oil. Note the
colour, odour and weight of the essential oil.

OBSERVATIONS:Name of
Item

Weig
ht of
Item
taken

Initial
Weig
ht
(x)

Weight
of
bottle
+
essenti
al oil
(y)

Weight
of
essenti
al oil
extract
ed
(y-x)

Percentag
e of
essential
oil
(y/100)*10
0

Colour
of the
oil

Odour
of the
oil

1.)
SAUNF
(ANISEED
):-

100
gm

2.)
AJWAIN
(CAROM)
:-

75 gm

10gm

11.25
gm

1.25
gm

1.25 %

Colour
-less

PROJECT PICTURES : -

10
gm

11 gm

1 gm

1.33%

Colour
-less

Saunf
like
smell.

Ajwain
like
smell