CHARACTERIZATION OF VOLATILE COMPOSITION AND ODOR OF ANGELICA (ANGELICA-ARCHANGELICA SUBSP ARCHANGELICA L) ROOT EXTRACTS

The volatile components isolated from the root of two wild angelica strains (Angelica archangelica L. var. Archangelica) grown in the northern Finland were compared with the garden angelica (var. Sativa) grown in the north and in the south of Finland. More than 80 compounds were determined in the Soxhlet extracts by gas chromatography, and 67 were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Large variability in the relative amounts of the compounds was found. beta-Phellandrene was the main component in var. Archangelica and sabinene in var. Sativa. The relative proportion of both hydrocarbon monoterpenes and oxygenated monoterpenes was larger in var. Sativa cultivated in the north than in the south of Finland. Angelica strains were sensorially characterized as green, terpenic, fresh, celeriac, and sweet. Deviation-from-reference descriptive analysis was used to evaluate the intensity of these characteristics. Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction (12 MPa/50 degrees C) was used to isolate the aroma of the angelica root into three fractions with distinctly different compositions. Sensory analysis of the carbon dioxide fractions revealed a terpenic, fresh, and pomerance-like character in the first fraction, and the same features but less pronounced were detected in the second fraction. The last fraction collected after exhaustive extraction was perceived as sweet and stale.