Acta Alimentaria
Volume/Issue:
Volume 54: Issue 1
Basil essential oil: Estragole content and chemical profiles
Authors:
J. Arsenijević Department of Pharmacognosy, University of Belgrade – Faculty of Pharmacy, Vojvode Stepe 450, 11221 Belgrade, Serbia

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A. Jovanović Department of Pharmacy, University of Niš, Faculty of Medicine, Bulevar dr Zorana Đinđića, 18108 Niš, Serbia

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N. Kovačević Department of Pharmacognosy, University of Belgrade – Faculty of Pharmacy, Vojvode Stepe 450, 11221 Belgrade, Serbia

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M. Drobac Department of Pharmacognosy, University of Belgrade – Faculty of Pharmacy, Vojvode Stepe 450, 11221 Belgrade, Serbia

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https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2367-568X
Pages:
133–144
Online Publication Date:
03 Feb 2025
Publication Date:
14 Mar 2025
Article Category:
Research Article
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1556/066.2024.00244
Keywords:
basil; Ocimum basilicum; essential oil; estragole (methyl chavicol)
Restricted access

Abstract

Basil (sweet basil, Ocimum basilicum L.) is an aromatic plant known for its culinary and traditional medicinal uses.

The content of estragole (methyl chavicol), a compound associated with a potential risk to human health, was determined in the essential oils of 12 samples of basil herb by gas chromatography with flame ionisation and mass spectrometry detection (GC-FID/MS) using an external standard method. The essential oils contained estragole at various levels, from 1.85 to 561.01 mg mL−1. Regarding the chemical profile, among the eleven essential oils, the compound with the highest relative proportion was linalool (29.1–70.3%), while estragole dominated in one essential oil with a relative proportion of 45.2%. All essential oils tested correspond to the European chemotype, which is characterised by a high content of linalool or a combination of linalool and estragole.

Given the recommendation for limiting human exposure to estragole, the safety of some essential oils may be of concern due to their high levels of estragole content.

The results indicate the importance of the chemical analysis of basil herb samples and the selection of chemotypes with low estragole content.

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Cover Acta Alimentaria
Acta Alimentaria
Print ISSN:
0139-3006
Online ISSN:
1588-2535

Senior editors

Editor(s)-in-Chief: András Salgó, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary

Co-ordinating Editor(s) Marianna Tóth-Markus, Budapest, Hungary

Co-editor(s): A. Halász, Budapest, Hungary

       Editorial Board

  • László Abrankó, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
  • Tamás Antal, University of Nyíregyháza, Nyíregyháza, Hungary
  • Diána Bánáti, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
  • József Baranyi, Institute of Food Research, Norwich, UK
  • Ildikó Bata-Vidács, Eszterházy Károly Catholic University, Eger, Hungary
  • Ferenc Békés, FBFD PTY LTD, Sydney, NSW Australia
  • György Biró, Budapest, Hungary
  • Anna Blázovics, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
  • Francesco Capozzi, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
  • Marina Carcea, Research Centre for Food and Nutrition, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics Rome, Italy
  • Zsuzsanna Cserhalmi, Budapest, Hungary
  • Marco Dalla Rosa, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
  • István Dalmadi, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
  • Katarina Demnerova, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Czech Republic
  • Mária Dobozi King, Texas A&M University, Texas, USA
  • Muying Du, Southwest University in Chongqing, Chongqing, China
  • Sedef Nehir El, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey
  • Søren Balling Engelsen, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Éva Gelencsér, Budapest, Hungary
  • Vicente Manuel Gómez-López, Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia, Murcia, Spain
  • Jovica Hardi, University of Osijek, Osijek, Croatia
  • Hongju He, Henan Institute of Science and Technology, Xinxiang, China
  • Károly Héberger, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, ELKH, Budapest, Hungary
  • Nebojsa Ilić, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia
  • Dietrich Knorr, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
  • Hamit Köksel, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
  • Katia Liburdi, Tuscia University, Viterbo, Italy
  • Meinolf Lindhauer, Max Rubner Institute, Detmold, Germany
  • Min-Tze Liong, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
  • Marena Manley, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
  • Miklós Mézes, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Gödöllő, Hungary
  • Áron Németh, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary
  • Perry Ng, Michigan State University,  Michigan, USA
  • Quang Duc Nguyen, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
  • Laura Nyström, ETH Zürich, Switzerland
  • Lola Perez, University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain
  • Vieno Piironen, University of Helsinki, Finland
  • Alessandra Pino, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
  • Mojmir Rychtera, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Czech Republic
  • Katharina Scherf, Technical University, Munich, Germany
  • Regine Schönlechner, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
  • Arun Kumar Sharma, Department of Atomic Energy, Delhi, India
  • András Szarka, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary
  • Mária Szeitzné Szabó, Budapest, Hungary
  • Sándor Tömösközi, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary
  • László Varga, Széchenyi István University, Mosonmagyaróvár, Hungary
  • Rimantas Venskutonis, Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas, Lithuania
  • Barbara Wróblewska, Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research, Polish Academy of Sciences Olsztyn, Poland

 

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Acta Alimentaria
Language English
Size B5
Year of
Foundation		 1972
Volumes
per Year		 1
Issues
per Year		 4
Founder Magyar Tudományos Akadémia    
Founder's
Address		 H-1051 Budapest, Hungary, Széchenyi István tér 9.
Publisher Akadémiai Kiadó
Publisher's
Address		 H-1117 Budapest, Hungary 1516 Budapest, PO Box 245.
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Publisher		 Chief Executive Officer, Akadémiai Kiadó
ISSN 0139-3006 (Print)
ISSN 1588-2535 (Online)

 

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