Relationship Between Assimilate Supply and Essential Oil Accumulation in Annual and Biennial Caraway (Carum carvi L.)

The content and composition of the essential oil Found inCarum carviL. commercial fruits obtained from different countries

“…A seed of biennial caraway contained approximately twice as much oil as a similar-sized seed of annual caraway (19). This can have three different causes: genetic differences, differences in the location where the two types are grown, and differences in weather conditions during seed filling (18). Wild-growing caraway fruits from Montenegro contained similar amounts (4.7-6.0%) of essential oil (17).…”

Biosynthesis of the Monoterpenes Limonene and Carvone in the Fruit of Caraway1

“…From previous experiments (Bouwmeester and Kuijpers, 1993), it was known that the formation of limonene and carvone level off at about 30 DAP. Representative umbellets of each developmental stage were used for the [ 14 C]Suc-feeding experiment, and fruits were collected from the remaining umbels/umbellets for chemical and biochemical analyses by cutting the stalks with a small pair of scissors just below the fruits.…”

“…The mixture was homogenized for 30 s with an Omni 2000 homogenizer equipped with an Omni 10010 macrogenerator and saw teeth (Omni International, Waterbury, CT). After the debris had settled, 2 mL of the supernatant was transferred to a Pyrex centrifuge tube in which the fatty acids of the triacylglycerols were transesterified to the corresponding methyl esters (Bouwmeester and Kuijpers, 1993). Before and after methylation, radioactivity was determined in aliquots of the pentane phase by liquidscintillation spectrometry.…”

“…Although both forms produce an essential oil that consists predominantly of carvone and limonene, the fruits of annual caraway varieties generally have a lower essential oil content than the fruits of biennial varieties (Bouwmeester and Kuijpers, 1993), probably because of a greater carbon partitioning to essential oil formation in biennial caraway (Bouwmeester et al, 1995a). In addition, biennial caraway usually has a higher carvone-to-limonene ratio.…”

“…Whereas limonene accumulation predominates in the early stages of development, carvone accumulation predominates in the later stages such that, when the fruits mature, carvone and limonene contents are approximately equal (Von Schantz and Ek, 1971;Bouwmeester and Kuijpers, 1993;Bouwmeester et al, 1995a). Although it has been suggested that carvone and limonene accumulation continue until fruit maturity (Von Schantz and Ek, 1971;Von Schantz and Huhtikangas, 1971), Bouwmeester et al (1995a) showed that carvone and limonene accumulation ceases several weeks before.…”