IJRRAS 19 (1) ● April 2014 www.arpapress.com/Volumes/Vol19Issue1/IJRRAS_19_1_05.pdf CHROMATOGRAPHIC SEPARATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF SOME VOLATILE OILS, ORGANIC ACIDS AND PHENOLS FROM THE SEEDS OF CUMINUM CYMINUM GROWING IN IRAQ Fanar Hashum Yousif Al-Hashemi Department of Horticulture & Landscape Design College of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Mosul, Iraq E-mail:
[email protected] ABSTRACT The current study was carried out for separation and identification of some active constituents from Cuminum cyminum fruit (often called seeds) were collected in unripe, fully ripe stage and investigated of these essential oils (Octanol, Limonene, Thymol, Anisyl alcohol, Cuminaldehyde, Anethole, Vanillin and also Benzoic acid), organic acids (Aspartic, Citric, Malic, Tartaric, Propionic, Ascorbic, Oxalic, Maleic and Fumaric acids) and phenols (Salicylic acid, Gallic acid, Cinnamic acid, Hydroquinone, Resorcinol, P-hydroxybenzoic acid, Rutin, Coumarine, Quercetin). The essential oils were investigated by Gas Liquid Chromatography (GLC), while quantitative identification of individual target organic acids and phenolic compounds were achieved by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Moreover the high percentage oil (10.97%) and the major components were presented as Cuminaldehyde (14.27%), Vanillin (2.76%) and Anethole (1.93%) in the fully ripe stage of seeds. Also the essential oil was studied for its physical properties. Many organic acids were identified in fully ripe seeds in eight compounds comparative with unripe seeds. Salicylic and gallic acids were showed with a highest amounts in both stage of harvest seeds. Key words: Cuminum cyminum, volatile oils, organic acid, phenols, GLC, HPLC. 1. INTRODUCTION Cuminum cyminum L. is an annual plant of the family apiaceae, native from the east Mediterranean to east India, The word cumin in English is derived from the Latin cuminum, which it self was derived from Greek "Kyminon" (Nitin et al., 2012).