Variations in the Volatile Compositions of <i>Curcuma</i> Species

• Main Authors: Noura S. Dosoky, Prabodh Satyal, William N. Setzer
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-02-01
• Series: Foods
• Subjects: <i>Curcuma aeruginosa</i>; <i>Curcuma longa</i>; <i>Curcuma zedoaria</i>; <i>Curcuma aromatica</i>; rhizome essential oils
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/8/2/53

<i>Curcuma</i> species have been cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions in Asia, Australia, and South America for culinary as well as medicinal applications. The biological activities of <i>Curcuma</i> have been attributed to the non-volatile curcuminoids as well as to volatile terpenoids. <i>Curcuma</i> essential oils have demonstrated a wide variety of pharmacological properties. The objective of this work was to examine the variation in the compositions of <i>Curcuma</i> rhizome essential oils. In this work, the volatile oils from <i>C. longa</i> and <i>C. zedoaria</i> were obtained and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The chemical compositions of <i>C. longa</i> and <i>C. zedoaria</i> essential oils, including those reported in the literature, were analyzed by hierarchical cluster analysis. In addition, cluster analyses of the chemical compositions of <i>C. aromatica</i> and <i>C. aeruginosa</i> from the literature were also carried out. <i>Curcuma longa</i> volatiles were dominated by &#945;-turmerone, curlone, <i>ar</i>-turmerone, &#946;-sesquiphellandrene, &#945;-zingiberene, germacrone, terpinolene, <i>ar</i>-curcumene, and &#945;-phellandrene and showed four distinct chemical clusters. <i>C. zedoaria</i> rhizome oil contained 1,8-cineole, curzerenone/<i>epi</i>-curzerenone, &#945;-copaene, camphor, &#946;-caryophyllene, elemol, germacrone, curzerene, and &#946;-elemene and showed two different chemical types. <i>C. aromatica</i> had three clearly defined clusters, and <i>C. aeruginosa</i> had three types.