Industrial Crops and Products 60 (2014) 233–238

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Industrial Crops and Products

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/indcrop

Essential oil composition of eight starchy Curcuma species

G.R. Angel a , Nirmala Menon b , B. Vimala a , Bala Nambisan a,∗
a
Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Sreekariyam, Thiruvananthapuram 695017, India
b
National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Pappanamcode, Thiruvananthapuram
695019, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The chemical composition of essential oils from eight underutilized starchy Curcuma species was studied
Received 22 February 2014 and the components identified by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The yield of essen-
Received in revised form 14 June 2014 tial oil in the rhizomes ranged from 0.38 ml in Curcuma aeruginosa to 1.4 ml/100 g fw in Curcuma zedoaria.
Accepted 16 June 2014
The compounds 1,8 cineole, camphor, camphene, ␣-pinene, and ␤-pinene were present in most of the
species. Each Curcuma species was characterized by the presence of unique compounds which varied in
Keywords:
concentration from 0.25 to 70%. These included ␣-fenchene in Curcuma sylvatica, curcumenene in Cur-
Curcuma species
cuma malabarica, elemenone in Curcuma rakthakanta, epicurzerenone and curzerene in Curcuma zedoaria,
Essential oils
Chemical constituents
curdione and xanthorhizol in Curcuma aromatica, and ␤-eudesmol in Curcuma aeruginosa. The different
GC/MS species were grouped on the basis of essential oil composition and a dendrogram consisting of four clus-
Dendrogram ters was constructed. In view of the ambiguity existing in the classification of different Curcuma species,
Classification the essential oil composition could be an important tool for species identification and authentication.
© 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V.

1. Introduction species indicated that they possessed antioxidant and antibacte-

The genus Curcuma belongs to the Zingiberaceae family and
comprises about 80 species of rhizomatous herbs which mainly
occur in the tropical regions of Asia, Australia, and South America.
The rhizomes of a few Curcuma species are widely used in indige-
nous medicine due to their pharmacological properties which have
been identified as antimicrobial (Wilson et al., 2005), anticancer
(Azuine and Bhide, 1992; Upadhyay et al., 2013), antidiarrheal
(Owolabi et al., 2012), and anti-inflammatory (Jang et al., 2001).
These species include Curcuma longa, Curcuma aeruginosa, Curcuma
aromatica, Curcuma brog, Curcuma caesia, Curcuma malabarica,
Curcuma rakthakanta, Curcuma sylvatica, and Curcuma zedoaria.
Among these, C. longa (turmeric) is a species which is widely
used in pharmaceutical preparations, in cosmetics, as a culinary
additive, and is a plant resource which has achieved high com-
mercial value. The rhizome contains large quantities of essential
oil, which contributes to its medicinal value (Apisariyakul et al.,
1995; Jayaprakasha et al., 2002). Few studies have been carried
out on the other Curcuma species, all of which possess character-
istic aroma indicating the presence of essential oils. Our earlier
studies on the properties of essential oils isolated from these
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 0471 2598551; fax: +91 0471 2590063.
E-mail address: balanambisan@yahoo.co.uk (B. Nambisan).
rial properties (Angel et al., 2012). Antioxidant activity in terms of
DPPH radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing power of the
Curcuma oils showed a large variation among the species. Essen-
tial oils also exerted antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli,
Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus. Since there is lim-
ited information on the composition of the essential oils in these
species we determined the important components of the essen-
tial oils in order to highlight the differences between the different
species.
Essential oils extracted from several Curcuma species are
complex mixtures of monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, and other
aromatic compounds. The essential oil of C. longa is reported to
contain ar-tumerone, turmerone, tumerol, and zingiberene as the
major constituents (Jayaprakasha et al., 2005; Zwaving and Bos,
1992). Investigations carried out on the essential oils in C. aro-
matica, C. zedoaria, and C. aeruginosa have revealed the presence
of a large number of terpenoids and sesquiterpenes (Choudhury
et al., 1996; Jarikasem et al., 2005; Lai et al., 2004; Sirat et al.,
1998; Zwaving and Bos, 1992). On the other hand, essential oils
in C. sylvatica, C. rakthakanta, C. brog, and C. malabarica have not
been studied for their chemical constituents. Variations in the
essential oil composition can be caused by difference in species,
climate, country of origin, time of harvest, fertilizer application,
and extraction and analysis methods (Lis-Balchin, 2002). Hence, it
is important that comparative studies on essential oil components

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2014.06.028
0926-6690/© 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V.
234 G.R. Angel et al. / Industrial Crops and Products 60 (2014) 233–238
between different species are carried out under identical condi-
tions. A chemical fingerprint of the essential oils could also be
used as a tool for identification and quality assessment of the
species.
In this paper the essential oils were isolated from rhizomes
of eight starchy Curcuma species viz. (C. aeruginosa, C. aromatica,
C. brog, C. caesia, C. malabarica, C. rakthakanta, C. sylvatica, and
C. zedoaria) which were cultivated under similar conditions, and
analyzed for their chemical constituents. This chemical fingerprint
data was used to construct a dendrogram for classification of these
Curcuma species.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Plant material
Eight tuberising Curcuma species namely C. aeruginosa, C. aro-
matica, C. brog, C. caesia, C. malabarica, C. rakthakanta, C. sylvatica,
and C. zedoaria were collected from the National Bureau of Plant
Genetic Resources (Regional Station), Trichur, Kerala, India. The
crop was raised in the farm of Central Tuber Crops Research Insti-
tute, Trivandrum, India (Location 8.5 ◦ N 76.9 ◦ E). The average
temperature was 30 ◦ C and the soil; acidic (pH 6.5), and clayey.
The rhizomes were harvested after 8 months and fresh rhizomes
used for the extraction of essential oil.
2.2. Chemicals
All chemicals used were of analytical grade.
2.3. Extraction of the essential oils
Fresh rhizomes were washed, sliced, homogenized with distilled
water and subjected to hydrodistillation for 4 h using a Clevenger
apparatus with a water cooled receiver. At the end of the dis-
tillation process, the essential oil which separated on the water
column was collected, and dried over anhydrous sodium sulphate.
The oil was centrifuged, the volume was measured and stored at
−20 ◦ C. The essential oil of C. longa, which was analyzed along
with the other Curcuma species was also included for compari-
son.
2.4. Analysis of the oil
The GC analysis was carried out in a Hewlett-Packard GC (Model
5890-II) equipped with an electronic integrator. Methyl silicone
column (50 m × 0.2 mm, 0.17 ␮m) was used for the analysis. The
conditions used were as follows: temperature programming from
80 to 200 ◦ C at the rate of 5 ◦ C/min, held at 200 ◦ C for 15 min,
F.I.D. temperature 300 ◦ C, injection temperature 250 ◦ C, carrier
gas: nitrogen at a flow rate of 1 mL min−1 at a split ratio of
1:75.
GC/MS analysis was carried out in a Hewlett-Packard GC (Model
No. 5995) coupled with mass spectrometer under the following
conditions: GC column and conditions were the same as in the cap-
illary GC analysis. MS conditions were as follows: electron impact as
the ion source, ionizing voltage 70 eV, source temperature 150 ◦ C,
electron multiplier at 2000 eV, scan speed 690 amu/s, and scan
range 40–500 amu.
2.5. Identification of compounds
Compounds were identified by comparing retention indices
(determined with respect to a homologous series of normal
alkanes) and matching the recorded mass spectra of each com-
pound with those of authentic samples and library (NIST), and
literature (Adams, 1995; Jennings and Shibamoto, 1980; Stenhagen
et al., 1974). The concentration of the identified compounds
(expressed as area percentage) was computed from the corre-
sponding peak area, calculated as the mean of three injections.
2.6. Cluster analysis
Essential oils were scored for the presence or absence of specific
components and data analyzed using NTSYS-pc version 2.1 soft-
ware. Cluster analysis was done using the UPGMA (Unweighted
Pair Group Method with Arithmetic averages) on the GC–MS data
of the 8 essential oil and C. longa oil samples to determine the pat-
tern of shared and diverse chemistry between the different species.
The relationship between species based on their chemical compo-
nents in essential oil was visualized as a dendrogram. The analysis
was based on similarity matrices using UPGMA and the relation-
ship between species was visualized as a dendrogram (Rohif, 2000).
Compounds present at ≥0.5% concentration were considered for
construction of dendrogram.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Yield and color of essential oil
C. zedoaria had the highest oil yield followed by C. sylvatica
(0.62%), C. brog and C. caesia (0.50%), C. aromatica and C. malabarica
(0.40%), while C. aeruginosa and C. rakthakanta had the lowest oil
yield of 0.38% and 0.39% respectively. Rhizomes of C. rakthakanta,
C. sylvatica, and C. zedoaria with greenish yellow, light yellow and
orange flesh respectively, produced colorless oils. Essential oils of
C. caesia and C. malabarica, which are blue fleshed, were violet and
brownish violet respectively. C. longa oil was yellow in color, as
reported by Khalique and Amin (1967).
The Curcuma species used in the present studies were culti-
vated under identical conditions so as to rule out any variability
in chemical profile in the oils due to cultural factors. Unpeeled
rhizomes were used for the extraction of essential oil to avoid
oil loss from the tissues below the skin. Our studies indicated
that all the eight Curcuma species were good sources of essen-
tial oil. Essential oil content in rhizomes varied between 0.38 in
C. aeruginosa to 1.4 ml/100 g in C. zedoaria. It has been reported
that yield of essential oil in C. longa accessions can vary from 0.16
to 1.94% (Garg et al., 1999). C. aeruginosa (0.38%) and C. aromat-
ica (0.40%) gave higher yields than reported earlier by Jarikasem
et al. (2005). Color of rhizome flesh and essential oil was not
related.
3.2. Chemical composition of essential oils
The composition of the essential oils was determined using
GC–MS and individual components were identified by compari-
son of relative retention indices of the peaks with the MS library
of standard essential oils. The results are presented in Table 1.
A total of 55 components were identified by GC–MS analyses, of
which majority were sesquiterpenes. The identified compounds
represented 77–92% of the related oils. The number of chemical
constituents of individual species ranged from 6 to 18. Maximum
number of compounds was detected in C. caesia, C. brog, and C.
aromatica oils.
The essential oil of C. aeruginosa contained curcumenol (38.7%)
and ␤-pinene (27.5%) as major compounds. Other constituents
were ␤-eudesmol (3.6%), ZZ-farnesol (2.0%), ␤-farnesene (1.5%),
zingiberene (1.2%). The principal components in C. aromatica oil
were camphor (18.8%), camphene (10.2%), 1, 8-cineole (10.1%), bor-
neol (8.2%), and ␤-elemene (7.5%). The main constituents in C.
brog were 1,8-cineole (28.2%), ␤-elemene (8.2%), camphor (6.9%),
 G.R. Angel et al. / Industrial Crops and Products 60 (2014) 233–238 235

Table 1
Retention index, RI and relative peak area (%) of compounds in Curcuma essential oils.a

Compounds RIb % Relative peak area

C. ae C. ar C. b C. c C. m C. r C. s C. z C. lo

␣-Pinene 943 0.43 1.5 2 0.5 0.95 2.4 1.0 – 0.05

Camphene 954 0.18 10.2 2.9 8.2 0.45 – 4.8 – –
␣-Fenchene 956 – – – – – – 70 – –
Sabinene 976 – – – – – – – – 0.15
␤-Pinene 980 27.5 – 3.1 0.9 2.5 3.0 – – –
␤-Myrcene 986 – 1.2 – – – – – – 0.2
3-Thujene 992 – – – – – – – – 3.1
2-Octanol 994 0.34 – – – – – – – –
␣-Terpinene 1008 – – - – – – – – 0.8
p-Menthadiene 1011 – – – – – 4.0 – – –
p-Cymene 1019 – – – – – – – – 0.25
1,8 Cineole 1027 0.42 10.1 28.2 30.1 40.8 24.6 – – 0.68
Limonene 1030 0.48 0.98 0.75 2 – – – – –
cis-Ocimene 1040 – – – – – – 0.6 – –
␥-Terpinene 1057 – – – – – – – – 0.1
Terpinolene 1080 – – – – – – – – 0.08
Linalool 1089 – 2.1 – – – – – – –
Dodecadiene 1127 0.25 – – – – – – – –
Camphor 1133 – 18.8 6.9 15.2 10.2 4.9 – 3.3 –
Iso-borneol 1154 – 1.8 – 1.7 – – – 0.2 –
Borneol 1164 – 8.2 1.3 0.8 – – – 0.5 –
␣-Terpineol 1184 – – 0.9 – – – – 1.7 –
Dihydrocarveol 1192 – – – 3.6 – – – – –
Ylangene 1375 – – – – – – – – 0.8
␦-Elemene 1384 – – – 0.9 – – – 0.3 –
␤-Elemene 1403 – 7.5 8.2 – – 4.2 – 0.9 –
Caryophyllene 1418 – 0.5 3.8 – – – – – 0.4
␥-Elemene 1423 – – – – 0.48 5.4 – 2.5 –
␤-Farnesene 1447 1.5 – – 0.5 – – – – 0.8
ar-Curcumene 1472 – – – 14.8 – – – 12.1 3.5
Germacrene-D 1479 0.29 1.8 2.6 2.8 0.31 – – – –
␦-Farnesene 1482 – – – – – – – – 1.8
Zingiberene 1487 1.2 – – 1.8 – – – 12 4.0
␣-Farnesene 1497 0.34 – 6.3 – 2.1 – 4.5 2.3 –
Curzerene 1500 – – – – – – – 8 –
Curcumenene 1512 – – – – 18.7 – – – –
␤-Sesquiphellandrene 1524 – – – – 0.17 21.5 – 9.8 0.8
Germacrene-B 1558 – 2.8 0.8 0.6 – – –– 6 –
Curzerenone 1590 – – – 2.2 – – – – –
Elemenone 1596 – – – – – 13.6 – – –
␣-Turmerone 1622 – – 3.2 – – – - – 9.1
␤–Turmerone 1632 – – – – 1.7 – – 4 7.9
ar-Turmerone 1636 – – – – – – – – 49.8
Aromadendreneepoxide 1646 – – 1.7 – – – – – –
␤-Eudesmol 1650 3.6 – – – – – – – –
Atlantone 1669 – – – – – – – – 2.2
Curcumenone 1673 – – – – – 2.1 – – –
epi-Curzerenone 1685 – – – – – – – 19 –
Germacrone 1690 – – 1.4 1.8 – – – – –
neo-Curdione 1691 – 3.2 – – – – – – –
ZZ-Farnesol 1693 2.0 – 5.2 – – – – – –
ZE-farnesol 1699 – – – – – – 0.4 – –
Curdione 1717 – 4.8 – – – – – – –
Curcumenol 1733 38.7 – – 3.1 – – – – 2.0
Xanthorhizol 1751 – 4.8 – – – – – – –

Total 77.23 80.28 79.25 91.5 78.36 85.7 81.3 82.6 88.51
a
Abbreviations: C. ae – C. aeruginosa, C. ar – C. aromatica, C. b – C. brog, C. c – C. caesia, C. m – C. malabarica, C. r – C. rakthakanta, C. s – C. sylvatica, C. z – C. zedoaria, and C. lo
– C. longa.
b
Retention indices (RI) relative to n-alkanes on methyl silicone capillary column (50 m × 0.2 mm, 0.17 ␮m).

␣-farnesene (6.3%), ZZ-farnesol (5.2%), and caryophyllene (3.8%)
while 1,8-cineole (30.1%), camphor (15.2%), ar-curcumene (14.8%),
and camphene (8.2%) were the main compounds in C. caesia. A
total of 11 compounds were detected in C. malabarica oil, of which
the principal compounds were 1,8-cineole(40.8%), curcumenene
(18.7%), and camphor (10.2%).The major components in C. rak-
thakanta were 1,8-cineole (24.6%), ␤-sesquiphellandrene (21.5%),
and elemenone (13.6%). The essential oil of C. sylvatica had ␣-
fenchene (70%) as the major constituent. Analysis of C. zedoaria oil
revealed that the main constituents were epicurzerenone (19%),
ar-curcumene (12.1%), zingiberene (12%), ␤-sesquiphellandrene
(9.8%), curzerene (8%), and germacrene B (6%).
The data revealed that 1,8 cineole, camphor, camphene, ␣-
pinene, and ␤-pinene were present in essential oils of the majority
of species. Each Curcuma species was characterized by the pres-
ence of unique compounds which ranged in concentration from
0.25 to 70% (Table 2). These could be used as a marker for
the differentiation of these eight starchy Curcuma species. The
compounds present in the higher concentration range were ␣-
fenchene in C. sylvatica, curcumenene in C. malabarica, elemenone
236 G.R. Angel et al. / Industrial Crops and Products 60 (2014) 233–238

Table 2
Major/unique constituents in Curcuma oils.

Species Major compounds Unique compounds

Compound % Content Compound % Content

C. aeruginosa Curcumenol 38.7 ␤-Eudesmol 3.6

␤-Pinene 27.5 2-Octanol 0.34
␤-Eudesmol 3.6 Dodecadiene 0.25

C. aromatica Camphor 18.8 Curdione 4.8

Camphene 10.2 Xanthorhizol 4.8
1,8 Cineole 10.1 neo-Curdione 3.2
Borneol 8.2 Linalool 2.1
␤-Elemene 7.5 ␤-Myrcene 1.2

C. brog 1,8 Cineole 28.2 ␣-Turmerone 3.2

␤-Elemene 8.2 Aromadendrene-epoxide 1.7
Camphor 6.9
␣-Farnesene 6.3
ZZ-farnesol 5.2

C. caesia 1,8 Cineole 30.1 Dihydrocarveol 3.6

Camphor 15.2 Curzerenone 2.2
ar-Curcumene 14.8
Camphene 8.2

C. malabarica 1,8 Cineole 40.8 Curcumenene 18.7

Curcumenene 18.7
Camphor 10.2
␤-Pinene 2.5

C. rakthakanta 1,8 Cineole 24.6 Elemenone 13.6

␤-Sesquiphellandrene 21.5 p-Menthadiene 4.0
Elemenone 13.6 Curcumenone 2.1

C. sylvatica ␣-Fenchene 70.0 ␣-Fenchene 70.0

cis-Ocimene 0.6
ZE-farnesol 0.4

C. zedoaria Epicurzerenenone 19.0 Epicurzerenone 19.0

ar-Curcumene 12.1 Curzerene 8.0
Zingiberene 12.0
␤-Sesquiphellandrene 9.8
Curzerene 8.0
Germacrene B 6.0

in C. rakthakanta, epicurzerenone and curzerene in C. zedoaria,
curdione and xanthorhizol in C. aromatica, and ␤-eudesmol in
C. aeruginosa. Compounds present in lower concentrations were
dodecadiene and 2-octanol in C. aeruginosa; neocurdione, linalool,
and ␤-myrcene in C. aromatica; ␣-turmerone, aromadendrene
epoxide in C. brog and dihydrocarveol, curzerenone in C. caesia.
Unique compounds in C. rakthakanta were p-menthadiene, cur-
cumenone and in C. sylvatica; cis-ocimene and ZE-farnesol. The
presence of ␣-fenchene (a bicyclic terpene) in an essential oil (C.
sylvatica) is reported for the first time in a Curcuma species.
Major constituents (≥5.0% concentration) common to two or
more species were 1,8-cineole in C. malabarica, C. caesia, C. brog,
C. rakthakanta, and C. aromatica; camphor in C. aromatica, C. cae-
sia, C. malabarica, and C. brog; camphene in C. aromatica and C.
caesia; ar-curcumene in C. caesia and C. zedoaria; ␤-elemene in
C. brog and C. aromatica oils. The results indicated that oils from
these species could be considered as a good source of 1,8-cineole,
camphor, camphene, ar-curcumene, and ␤-elemene, which are
known to have immense application in pharmaceutical and fla-
voring industries. These compounds or oils have been reported
to possess analgesic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, insecticidal,
and anticancer properties (Bakkali et al., 2008; Chen et al., 2013;
Santos and Rao, 2000).
Large variations in the constituents of essential oil in some
of these species have been reported by earlier workers. Zwaving
and Bos (1992) reported presence of curcumanolides, curcu-
menol, dehydrocurdione, iso curcumenol, and ␤-eudesmol as
major constituents of C. aeruginosa oil. Jarikasem et al. (2005), Shafi
et al. (2003), and Sirat et al. (1998) identified curzerenone as a
major compound in C. aeruginosa. High concentrations of xanth-
orrhizol have been reported in C. aromatica oil (Jarikasem et al.,
2005; Zwaving and Bos, 1992). In C. zedoaria, epicurzerenene and
curzerene were reported to be present in rhizomes from Taiwan
(Mau et al., 2003). There are no previous reports on essential oil
constituents in C. sylvatica, C. rakthakanta, C. brog, and C. malabar-
ica.
Essential oils have been shown to exhibit a number of biological
activities and hence they have important applications in pharma-
ceutical industry. ␤-Elemene, which has tumouricidal effects (Fu
et al., 1984) was detected in C. aromatica, C. brog, C. rakthakanta,
and C. zedoaria. Curcumenol has analgesic properties (Navarro et al.,
2002) and was present in C. aeruginosa and C. caesia. ␤-Turmerone
and ar-turmerone have antioxidant effect (Hong et al., 2002). The
cholagogic effect of essential oils (Ozaki and Liang, 1988) is due
to the presence of camphor, which is a common constituent in
essential oils of Curcuma species.
3.3. Relation between Curcuma species
A dendrogram generated from the statistical analysis performed
on the identified compounds (48 components ≥0.5% concentration)
of each species is shown in Fig. 1. The essential oil of C. longa, was
also included for comparison. The dendrogram consisted of 4 clus-
ters. Cluster I, consisted of 2 groups. Group I contained C. aeruginosa.
 G.R. Angel et al. / Industrial Crops and Products 60 (2014) 233–238
Fig. 1. UPGMA based dendrogram of Curcuma species based on GC/MS analysis of essential oil. The numerical scale indicates genetic similarity.a (a) Essential oil from
rhizomes of eight starchy Curcuma species and of C. longa was subjected to GC/MS analysis. Species were scored for the presence (1) or absence (0) of individual essential oil
components with ≥0.5% concentration. Data analyzed using NTSYS – pc version 2.1 software and dendrogram generated based on the UPGMA cluster. The numerical scale
indicates genetic similarity and the members in specific cluster/groups are genetically related with similar/near coefficient value.
Group II, C. malabarica and C. rakthakanta; they formed a subgroup
with C. sylvatica. C. zedoaria and C. longa formed separate clusters
II and III. Cluster IV consisted of C. aromatica, C. brog, and C. caesia.
The classification of Curcuma species using RAPD (random ampli-
fied polymorphic DNA) analysis of leaf tissues (Angel et al., 2008)
showed strong similarity with the present classification based on
constituents in essential oil, indicating the usefulness of essential
oil data in chemo taxonomical applications.
4. Conclusions
The identification of major compounds in essential oils from
these Curcuma species provides a chemical blueprint for the iden-
tification of these species. This chemical fingerprint also serves as a
useful tool for classification of these species. Most of these species
have not been exploited pharmacologically and therefore this infor-
mation would be helpful in their utilization and identification as
useful plant resources.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to Kerala State Council for Science
Technology and Environment (KSCSTE), Trivandrum for the grant
205/SRSLS/2004/CSTE. The authors are also grateful to The Direc-
tor, Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (CTCRI), Trivandrum for
providing facilities.
References
Adams, R.P., 1995. Identification of Essential Oil Components by Gas Chromatogra-
phy/Mass Spectroscopy. Allured Publishing Corporation, Carol Stream, IL, USA.
Angel, G.R., Makeshkumar, T., Mohan, C., Vimala, B., Nambisan, B., 2008. Genetic
diversity analysis of starchy Curcuma species using RAPD markers. J. Plant
Biochem. Biotechnol. 17, 173–176.
Angel, G.R., Vimala, B., Nambisan, B., 2012. Antioxidant and antimicrobial activity
of essential oils from nine starchy Curcuma species. Int. J. Curr. Pharm. Res. 4,
45–47.
Apisariyakul, A., Vanittanakom, N., Buddhasukh, D., 1995. Antifungal activity of
turmeric oil extracted from Curcuma longa (Zingiberaceae). J. Ethnopharmacol.
49, 163–169.
Azuine, M.A., Bhide, S.V., 1992. Chemopreventive effect of turmeric against stomach
and skin tumors induced by chemical carcinogens in Swiss mice. Nutr. Cancer
17, 77–83.
Bakkali, F., Averbeck, S., Averbeck, D., Idaomar, M., 2008. Biological effects of essen-
tial oils – a review. Food Chem. Toxicol. 46, 446–475.
237
Chen, W., Ilze, V., Alvaro, V., 2013. Camphor – a fumigant during the Black Death and
a coveted fragrant wood in ancient Egypt and Babylon – a review. Molecules 18,
5434–5454.
Choudhury, S.N., Ghosh, A.C., Saikia, M., Choudhury, M., Leclercq, P.A., 1996. Volatile
constituents of the aerial and underground parts of Curcuma aromatica Salisb
from India. J. Essent. Oil Res. 8, 633–638.
Fu, N.W., Quan, L.P., Guo, Y.S., 1984. Antitumour effect and pharmacological actions
of elemene isolated from Curcuma aromatica. Zhong Yao Tong Bao. 9, 83–87.
Garg, S.N., Bansal, R.P., Gupta, M.M., Kumar, S., 1999. Variation in the rhizome essen-
tial oil and curcumin contents and oil quality in the land races of turmeric
Curcuma longa of North Indian plains. Flavour Frag J. 14, 315–318.
Hong, C.H., Noh, M.S., Lee, W.Y., Lee, S.K., 2002. Inhibitory effects of natural sesquiter-
penoids isolated from the rhizomes of Curcuma zedoaria on prostaglandin E2 and
nitric oxide production. Planta Med. 68, 545–547.
Jang, M.K., Sohn, D.H., Ryu, J.H., 2001. A curcuminoid and sesquiterpenes as inhibitors
of macrophage TNF-alpha release from Curcuma zedoaria. Planta Med. 67,
550–552.
Jarikasem, S., Thubthimthed, S., Chawananoraseth, K., Suntorntanasat, T., Brophy,
J.J., 2005. Essential oils from three Curcuma species collected in Thailand. Acta
Hortic. 677, 37–41.
Jayaprakasha, G.K., Jena, B.S., Negi, P.S., Sakariah, K.K., 2002. Evaluation of antioxidant
activities and antimutagenicity of turmeric oil: a by product from curcumin
production. Z. Naturforsch. 57c, 828–835.
Jayaprakasha, G.K., Rao, L.J.M., Sakariah, K.K., 2005. Chemistry and biological activi-
ties of C. longa. Trends Food Sci. Technol. 16, 533–548.
Jennings, W., Shibamoto, T., 1980. Qualitative Analysis of Flavour and Fragrance
Volatiles by Glass Capillary Gas Chromatography. Academic Press, NewYork,
pp. 29.
Khalique, A., Amin, M.N., 1967. Examination of Curcuma longa Linn. Part I. Con-
stituents of the rhizome. Sci. Res. East Regional Lab (Dacca) 4, 193–197.
Lai, E.Y.C., Chyau, C.C., Mau, J.L., Chen, C.C., Lai, Y.J., Shih, C.F., Lin, L.L., 2004. Antimi-
crobial activity and cytotoxicity of the essential oil of Curcuma zedoaria. Am. J.
Chin. Med. 32, 281–290.
Lis-Balchin, M., 2002. Essential oil from different Pelargonium species and cultivars:
their chemical composition (using GC, GC/MS) and appearance of trichomes
(under EM). In: Lis-Balchin, M. (Ed.), Geranium and Pelargonium: The Genera
Geranium and Pelargonium. Taylor and Francis, London, pp. 147–165.
Mau, J.L., Lai, E.Y.C., Wang, N.P., Chen, C.C., Chang, C.H., Chyau, C.C., 2003. Compo-
sition and antioxidant activity of the essential oil from Curcuma zedoaria. Food
Chem. 82, 583–591.
Navarro, D.F., De Souza, M.M., Neto, R.A., Golin, V., Niero, R., Yunes, R.A., Monache,
F.D., Filho, C.V., 2002. Phytochemical analysis and analgesic properties of Cur-
cuma zedoaria grown in Brazil. Phytomedicine 9, 427–432.
Owolabi, O.J., Arhewoh, M.I., Aadum, E.J., 2012. Evaluation of the antidiarrheal activ-
ity of the aqueous rhizome extract of Curcuma longa. J. Pharmaceut. Allied Sci.
9, 1450–1457.
Ozaki, Y., Liang, O.B., 1988. Cholagogic action of the essential oil obtained from
Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb. Shoyakugaku Zasshi. 42, 257–263.
Rohif, F.J., 2000. NTSYS-pc Numerical Taxonomy and Multivariate Analysis System,
Version 2. 1 Exetor Software. Setauket, New York.
Santos, F.A., Rao, V.S., 2000. Antiinflammatory and antinociceptive effects of 1,8-
cineole a terpenoid oxide present in many plant essential oils. Phytother. Res.
14, 240–244.
Shafi, M.P., Molykutty, Kaniampady, M., Tava, A., 2003. Essential oil from the rhi-
zomes of Curcuma aeruginosa Roxb. Indian Perfum. 47, 31–33.
238 G.R. Angel et al. / Industrial Crops and Products 60 (2014) 233–238

Sirat, H.M., Jamil, S., Hussain, J., 1998. Essential oil of Curcuma aeruginosa Roxb from
Malaysia. J. Essent. Oil Res. 10, 453–458.
Stenhagen, E., Abrahamson, S., McLafferty, F.W., 1974. Registry of Mass Spectral Data.
J. Wiley & Sons Inc., New York.
Upadhyay, A., Sharma, R.K., Singh, G., Jain, A.K., 2013. Evaluation of antitumor activity
of Curcuma amada Roxb rhizome. Int. J. Sci. Eng. Res. 4, 238–242.
Wilson, B., Abraham, G., Manju, V.S., Mathew, M., Vimala, B., Sundaresan, S., Nam-
bisan, B., 2005. Antimicrobial activity of C. zedoaria and C. malabarica tubers. J.
Ethnopharmacol. 99, 147–151.
Zwaving, J.H., Bos, R., 1992. Analysis of the essential oils of five Curcuma species.
Flavour Frag. J. 7, 19–22.