 Variety, location, maturity, dryness and duration of storage of cardamom seed determine the exact chemical composition. The chief factor governing the odour and flavour is the chemical composition of the volatile oil present in the seeds. The main components of the volatile oil are given below. |
| Main Components of cardamom volatile oil |
| Components | Total oil (%) |
|---|
| a-pinence | 1.5 |
| b-pinene | 0.2 |
| Sabinene | 2.8 |
| Myrcene | 1.6 |
| a-phellandrene | 0.2 |
| Limonene | 11.6 |
| 1,8- cineole | 36.3 |
| g-terpinene | 0.7 |
| p- cymene | 0.1 |
| Terpinolene | 0.5 |
| Linalool | 3.0 |
| Linalyl acetate | 2.5 |
| Terpinen - 4 - ol | 0.9 |
| a-terpineol | 2.6 |
| a-terpinyl acetate | 31.3 |
| Citronellol | 0.3 |
| Nerol | 0.5 |
| Geraniol | 0.5 |
| Methyl eugenol | 0.2 |
| trans- nerolidol | 2.7 | |
| Trace components in cardamom volatile oil |
| Hydrocarbons | Acids | Carbonyls |
|---|
| a-thujene | Acetic | 3-methyl butanal |
| Camphene | Propionic | 2-methyl butanal |
| a-terpinene | Butyric | Pentanal |
| cis-ocimene | 2-methyl butyric | Furfural |
| trans-ocimene | 3-methyl butyric | 8-acetoxy carvotanacetone |
| Toluene | Alcohols and Phenols | Cuminaldehyde |
| p -dimethylstyrene | 3-methyl butanol | Carvone |
| Cyclosativene | p-methyl-3-en-1-ol | Pinole |
| a-copaene | Perillyl alcohol | Terpinene-4-yl-acetate |
| a-ylangene | Cuminyl alcohol | a-terpinyl propionate |
| g-cadinene | p-cresol | Dihydro-a-terpinyl acetate |
| D-cadinene | Thymol | | |
| Cardamom seeds also contain fatty oil (fixed oil), containing mainly oleic and palmitic acids. The components reported by Gopalakrishnan et al. (1990) are as shown below. |
| Fatty acid | Total fixed oil (%) |
|---|
| Oleic | 42.5 - 44.2 |
| Palmitic | 28.4 - 38.0 |
| Linoleic | 2.2 - 15.3 |
| Linolenic | 5.8 |
| Caproic | 5.3 |
| Stearic | 3.2 |
| Hexadecanoic | 1.9 |
| Caprylic | 5.3 |
| Capric | < 0.1 - 3.8 |
| Myristic | 1.3 - 1.4 |
| Arachidic | 0.2 - 2.1 |
| Hexadecanoic | 1.9 |
| Pentadecanoic | 0.4 |
| Lauric | 0.2 | |
| Cardamom oil is so complex in content that a synthetic alternative is near to impossible to produce. |
