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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Miami, Florida » Subtropical Horticulture Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #361750
Research Project: Methyl Bromide Replacement: Mitigation of the Invasive Pest Threat from the American Tropics and Subtropics

Location: Subtropical Horticulture Research

Title: Headspace-SPME/GC-MS Analysis of the Anethum graveolens volatiles from Saudi Arabia with different fiber coatings

Author
item AL-MASSARANI, SHAZA - King Saud University
item Tabanca, Nurhayat
item FARSHORI, NIDA NAYYAR - King Saud University

Submitted to: Natural Volatiles & Essential Oils
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/8/2019
Publication Date: 4/19/2019
Citation: Al-Massarani, S., Tabanca, N., Farshori, N. 2018. Headspace-SPME/GC-MS Analysis of the Anethum graveolens volatiles from Saudi Arabia with different fiber coatings. Natural Volatiles & Essential Oils. 5(4):29-34.

Interpretive Summary: Seeds of the dill plant (Anethum graveolens) are an important agricultural crop and the aroma of this spice is based on its content of carvone (a terpenoid compound). A scientist from the USDA-ARS (Miami, FL), in collaboration with chemists at King Saud University (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) developed a technique for collection and analysis of dill seed volatiles. They used headspace-solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) technique with three different coating materials followed by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) to analyse chemical content. Of the three SPME fibers tested, they found that the one with a medium polarity coating extracted the highest amount of carvone. This technique, which requires a short sampling time and a small quantity of sample, will benefit future research for quality control of dill seeds. Moreover, HS-SPME coupled with GC-MS provides a convenient, rapid screening tool for chemical analysis, with broad agricultural applications.

Technical Abstract: Anethum graveolens L. (Apiaceae) commonly known as dill is widely used as a spice crop and medicinal herb worldwide. The aim of the study was to extract and compare the volatile constituents present in the seeds of Anethum graveolens by headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) using three fiber coatings [polydimethylsiloxane/divinylbenzene (PDMS/DVB), polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), and divinylbenzene/carboxen on polydimethylsiloxane (DVB/CAR/PDMS)]. The volatile compounds were characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) on the DB-5 column. A total of 15 constituents representing around 94-98% of the total components were identified. Carvone (26-35%), limonene (14-42%), dillapiole (9-34%) and cis-dihydrocarvone (8-14%) were found as the predominant constituents. The results showed that the relative abundances of the extracted compounds from dill seeds varied depending on the nature of SPME fibers.