Evaluation of the chemical composition of the essential oils obtained from commercial anise samples

The species Pimpinella anisum L. and Foeniculum vulgare Mill are marketed in Brazil as imported and national aniseeds, respectively. Their fruits have been used as herbal agents due to their antioxidant, antiseptic, antimicrobial, digestive, antispasmodic, expectorant, estrogenic, anti-inflammatory and diuretic activities. Some of these properties may be associated with the chemical composition of their essential oils. Thus, the aim of the study was to evaluate the chemical profile of essential oils obtained from commercial herbal samples sold as anise. Ten commercial samples sold in sachets (S1, S2, S3) or in polyethylene bags (PB1, PB2, PB3, PB4, PB5, PB6, PB7) had their essential oils extracted by hydrodistillation (100oC, 2 hours) and analyzed by GC/MS and GC/FID. The essential oils of all samples, except for the sample S3, presented similar chemical profiles, with twelve compounds being identified. The main compound of these samples was anethole, representing [(91.66 ± 2.18) %] of the mean essential oil content of the sachet samples (S1 and S2) and [(85.26 ± 3.88) %] of the PB samples. Anethole concentration in sachets was higher (p < 0.0001) than that of the polyethylene bags. Due to its high concentration and low odour threshold (73 ppb), this compound must be considered the most important odour-active compound of these nine essential oils. The chemical profile of the S3 essential oil was very different from that of the others. In this sample, estragole (84.88%) and limonene (6.08%) were the major compounds, being estragole the most important odour-active compound. The evaluation of the packaging showed that S3 sample was the only one associated with Foeniculum vulgare Mill. while all others were indicated as belonging to the Pimpinella anisum L. Perhaps estragole and anethole contents of anise samples can be useful to differentiate one species from another.