Marjoram oil and its chemical composition

                                                                                         

Marjoram oil and its chemical composition

The oil of Sweet Marjoram (Origanum marjorama or Marjorana hortensis) is obtained from the dried flower heads and leaves of the plant by steam distillation.

The plant is probably originated in the eastern Mediterranean countries and is now cultivated in central and southern Europe as well as in North Africa. The plant grown in the United States is used as a culinary herb.

Sweet marjoram oil is a pale yellow or pale amber liquid with warm, spicy, aromatic, camphoraceous and woody odor, reminiscent of nutmeg and cardamom.

Major oil producing countries include France, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Bulgaria and Hungary.

Marjoram oil possesses good aromatheraphy properties.

Marjoram oil has a warming action and calms emotions, relieves anxiety as well as stress and helps to calm down hyperactive people.

It has good muscle relaxant properties and pain killing properties like rheumatic pains, sprains, strains, swollen joints and painful muscles.

It soothes the digestive system and helps with cramps, indigestion, constipation and flatulence. It has a beneficial action on colds, sinusitis, bronchitis and asthma.

As a general relaxant, marjoram oil is used for headaches, migraines and insomnia.

It is used up to 6% in perfume formulations and 12 ppm in flavour formulations.

It blends well with lavender, rosemary, bergamot, chamomile, cypress, cedarwood, tea tree and eucalyptus oils.

The world wide production of Marjoram oil is estimated to be about 100 tons.

The chemical composition [in %] of the major components is as follows;

Sabinene - 2-5

Alpha-terpinene - 0.5-7

Ocimine - 2-10

Para-cymene - 2-10

Sabinene hydrate - 3-18

Linalool - 1-6

Linalyl acetate - 3-10

1-Terpinen-4-ol - 16-36

Thymol - 0.5-18

Carvacrol - 0.5-25

The minor components of the sweet marjoram oil are Elemol,Nerolidol,Anethole,Bisabolene, Camphene, Camphor, Caryophyllene oxide, Humulene, Piperitone, Carvone, Cineole,etc.

Spanish marjoram oil is obtained from Thymus mastichina .It is a wild plant growing in Spain.The oil has camphoraceous odour due Cineole presence up to 65%.The other components present in Spanish marjoram oil are Borneol [ 1-3%],Linalool[8-20%], Alpha-pinene [ 2-3%],Camphor[2-5%],Alpha-terpineol[8-12%], etc. Spanish marjoram oil finds applications in fragrance formulations used for soaps and shampoos. It is also used in food industry for flavoring canned meats, processed meats and sauces.

About the author:
Prashantkumar Kudli Shrinivas has a vast industrial experience of Aroma chemicals,Essential oils,Perfumery and Flavour formulations.

E-mail: prashantkudli@yahoo.co.in


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