CARVONE AND LIMONENE IN CARAWAY FRUITS (CARUM-CARVI L) ANALYZED BY SUPERCRITICAL CARBON-DIOXIDE EXTRACTION GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHY

Dried fruits of caraway (Carum carvi L.) were analyzed with on-line supercritical fluid extraction-gas chromatography using supercritical carbon dioxide at 50 degrees C and 9.7 MPa of pressure. The solutes were cryogenically collected onto a DB-1 capillary GC column, and the effluent was vented out. The compounds were subsequently eluted from the collection column with helium onto the head of the analytical DB-5 capillary column and cryofocused with liquid nitrogen. The volatiles were detected by flame ionization detection and identified by mass spectrometry. The rapid analytical procedure for quality assessment purposes was optimized for limonene and carvone, and their contents in the fruits were analyzed by using internal standards. Analyses of carvone in cultivar Polaris carried out by supercritical extraction and hydrodistillation gave the same result, 2.7 g/100 g, but limonene contents determined were 1.8 and 1.3 g/100 g, respectively. The carvone content of Finnish caraway fruits of four origins cultivated in 1991 varied between 2.2 and 2.9 g/100 g of dried fruits and the ratio of carvone to limonene varied from 1.7 to 2.4 in various fruit samples.