Comparison of the volatile oil composition of four popular cultivars of large cardamom (Ammomum subulatum Roxb.) - a future crop from India

Large cardamom (Amomum subulatum Roxb.) commonly known as bada elaichi is one of the world’s very ancient spices. It belongs to the Zingiberaceae family under the order Scitamaneae. It grows in the wild and is also domesticated in the sub-Himalayan region of north-eastern India, especially in Sikkim at altitudes ranging from 1000 to 2000 m a.s.l. It is also now grown increasingly in Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh and due to its high market price, is improving the socio-economic condition of traditionally poor farmers in these states. It is an important medicinal crop, used in indigenous medicine and also used as warming agent in extremely cool climates. Only preliminary reports of its biochemical compositions are available. In this study the volatile oil profile of the four popular cultivars of the crop namely ‘Sawney’, ‘Varlangey’, ‘Ramla’ and ‘Ramsey’ were studied in detail. The capsules contained 58.1-68.1% seeds and 1.19-2.87% essential oil. By GC-MS analysis 23 constituents of the oil were identified with 1,8-cineole as the chief component. Major constituents of the oil were α-pinene (1.67-6.45%), β-pinene (3.95-11.08%), 1,8-cineole (63.19-73.37%) and α-terpineol (5.58-7.64%). The oil contained high level of 1,8-cineole when compared to small cardamom (Elettaria cardamom) but α-terpinyl acetate, the chief component of small cardamom oil was found in trace amounts in large cardamom. This is the first report of detailed profiling of large cardamom essential oils.