Maturity dependence of quality, quantity and chemical constituents of bark and leaf oil of Ceylon Cinnamon (<em>Cinnamomum zeylanicum</em> Blume)

Abstract

The maturity dependence of quality and quantity of bark and leaf oils of Ceylon Cinnamon were studied. Both genetic factors and ecological factors were maintained constant using two accessions of Ceylon Cinnamon, Sri Gamunu and Sri Vijaya, vegetatively cultivated at a field in the same agro-ecological zone, IL1a (601.7820N’; 80033.4990’E; 22.3 amsl.). Three maturity stages of plants, more than 5 years, between 2-2.5 years, and between 1.5-2 years, were used. Morphological analysis in two varieties showed that stick weight, bark dry weight, and leaf dry weight per stick were not significantly different in two varieties at the significance level α = 0.05. When compared the oil contents, Sri Gamunu had a higher oil yield than Sri Vijaya and both showed significantly higher yield at maturity stage of 2-2.5 years which was about the customarily identified maturity for harvesting (~2 years). In Sri Gamunu, about 78 % of bark oil consists of cinnamaldehyde and cinnamyl acetate while those in Sri Vijaya accounts only about 63% with higher content of eugenol and benzyl benzoate. In contrast, eugenol was the major component in leaf oil of cinnamon, which accounts for about 80 % and 87% in Sri Gamunu and Sri Vijaya, respectively. The study revealed that the best maturity stage to harvest both varieties of cinnamon is 2-2.5 years of maturity for maximum quality and quantity of cinnamon bark oil. Keywords: cinnamon, cinnamon bark oil, cinnamon leaf oil, cinnamon maturity