Research on the chemical composition of cardamom essential oil (Amomum aromaticum roxb.) cultivated in some northern mountainous provinces.

Abstract

The cardamom plant (Amomum genus, Zingiberaceae family) was scientifically named Amomum aromaticum Roxb. by Roxb in 1820. Which is widely cultivated in the northern mountainous provinces of Vietnam. Cardamom is a species that is not only  commonly used in culinary applications, food manufactoring, and cosmetics, but it is also a valuable  medicinal plant with both domestic and worldwide  economic importance. Cardamom seeds in Vietnam contain about 1.5-2% essential oil with the main  components of  1,8-cineole ≈ 30.61%, trans-2 undecanal ≈ 17.33%, citral B (geranial) ≈ 10.57%, and terpineol ≈ 4.34%. These figures provide a general assessment of cardamom grown in Vietnam, but specific evaluations based on  locality have not been addressed.The study on the composition of cardamom essential oil was conducted by analyzing 36 cardamom samples collected from 36 standard plots located in the provinces of Lao Cai, Yen Bai, and Lai Chau. Using the steam distillation method, cardamom essential oils were extracted from Lao Cai (08 samples), Yen Bai (07 samples), and Lai Chau (21 samples) for the purpose of analyzing the components and their concentrations in the essential oil. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) method identified 30 components in the cardamom essential oil, with the main components in the samples from the provinces detailed  as follows: in Lao Cai, 1,8-cineole (28.8%), decenal (14.73%), and geranial (14.52%); in Yen Bai, 1,8-cineole (28.98%), decenal (14.88%), and geranial (14.05%); and in Lai Chau, 1,8-cineole (28.84%), decenal (14.45%), and geranial (14.27%).