The volatile components of parsley, Petroselinum crispum (Mill.) Fuss

Abstract

The leaf essential oils of two different samples of curly leaf parsley (Petroselinum crispum var. crispum) and two samples of flat leaf parsley (P. crispum var. neapolitanum) were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC-FID and GC-MS). Curley leaf parsley was rich in myristicin (39.4% and 43.2%), β-phellandrene (32.7% and 35.0%), and 1,3,8-p-menthatriene (14.9% and 7.9%). Flat leaf parsley, on the other hand, was dominated by apiole (52.9% and 33.0%) and β-phellandrene (10.0% and 17.0%). One sample of flat leaf parsley was rich in p-cymene (17.3%), while the other was rich in 1,3,8-p-menthatriene (23.4%). A cluster analysis of parsley leaf oils reported in the literature revealed three different categories based on composition: myristicin/β-phellandrene, 1,3,8-p-menthatriene/β-phellandrene, and apiole/β-phellandrene.