AJOWAN OIL
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Written by tom
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Sunday, 02 March 2008 |
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Also called ptychotis oil. A yellow essential oil distilled from ajwan seed of the herbaceous plant Carum copticum, or Ptychotis ajowan, of India.
The seed yields 3 to 4% oil containing up to 50% thymol and some cymene, most of the thymol separating out on distillation. Thymol is known as ajwan ka phul, meaning flowers of ajwan, and the latter part of the name is Anglicized to thymol. Ajowan oil has a specific gravity of 0.900 to 0.930. It is used in pharmceuticals. Thymol, (CH3)2CHC6H3(CH3)OH, is a white crystalline solid with a strong thyme odor, soluble in alcohol, and melting at 50°C. It is used in antiseptics and as a deodorant for leather. Thymol is also obtained from horsemint oil and from eucalyptus oil, or can be made synthetically from
metacresol. It was originally distilled from the thyme plant, Thymus vulgaris, of the Mediterranean countries, the dried leaves of which are used as a condiment. Cymene, (CH3)2CHC6H4CH3, is used as a scent in soaps, and has high solvent properties. It is also obtained from spruce turpentine. It is a liquid of specific gravity 0.861, boiling at 177°C.
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Material detail
