Content and Composition of Essential and Fatty Oil of Foeniculum Vulgare cv. Soroksari Cultivated Fruits

Abstract

The essential oil from cultivated fruits of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare cv. soroksari) was extracted by hydrodistillation. The essential oil yield was 5.2% w/w based on dry weigth. The fatty oil content, after essential oil extraction and using Soxhlet-separation, was 8.2%. The essential oil was investigated by GC and GC/MS, while the fatty oil composition only by GC. Ninteen components were identified by GC/MS analyses. The main components of the essential oil were trans anethole (67.0%), fenchone (17.6%), methyl chavicol (3.7%), α-pinene (2.9%), limonene (2.6%) and γ-terpinene (1.5%). Seven fatty acids were determined from the fatty oil of fruits of fennel after essential oil extraction with major compounds oleic (59.0%), linoleic (19.0%), palmitic (10.3%), myristic (6.3%) and stearic acid (1.7%).