General
- Caraway, Carum carvi
L., is a slender annual or biennial herb native to Asia Minor and Europe
and naturalized in North America. The plant, reaching a height of
approximately one meter, has long been prized as a flavoring agent or
condiment. Caraway seeds are actually the mericarps of ripe fruit borne
in compound umbels.
- Caraway had been used
since the ancient times to calm the digestive tract and expel gas.
Caraway seeds have been found in prehistoric food remains from 3500 B.C.
The ancient Greek physician Dioscorides mentioned the seeds to aid
digestion, and herbals down through the ages have recommended them for
indigestion, gas, and infant colic.
Production
& Cultivation
- Caraway are grown
not so much for their medicinal herbal properties as they are for
their culinary uses in flavoring in dishes, candies and liqueurs. It
has bright green leaves similar to a carrot top and 18 to 30 inch
stems that appear rather weedy looking. Sow caraway seeds in the
fall and be patient, because they are slow to germinate.
- The
caraway grown commercially on the prairies for field production is a
biennial with fine-cut carrot-like leaves and tiny white flowers
blossoming in June. It tends to handle frost well. The fruit, which
is mistakenly called seed, is slightly curved (banana shaped) with
distinct pale ridges. The fruit has a distinct odor when crushed
Technology
& Applications
- Currently, SFE
represents a dynamically evolving separation technique for the
determination of essential oils. It is an efficient method for
isolation of volatile compounds from complex natural matrices,
comparable with older field-proven methods, such as steam
distillation, liquid/liquid (solvent) extraction or
hydrodistillation.
- The primary
active constituent in caraway is volatile oil (4-6% on average),
which itself is made up of carvone and limonene. The fruit of the
caraway plant contains fixed oil along with carbohydrate and
protein. Caraway is a carminative. Carminatives are herbs that help
to ameliorate gastrointestinal pain, and associated gas pain. The
volatile oil of caraway may also be a useful remedy for bowel
spasms.
Market
- The market for
caraway oil is so ill defined in Australia, it is essential that you
cost everything carefully and ensure you have a contract before
embarking on this enterprise. Studies
on caraway have focussed on the annual variety, which matures very
late and has an essential oil content about two-thirds that of the
biennial variety.
- Canadian caraway
seed production is concentrated in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and
Manitoba. Caraway seed has a higher yield potential in highly
fertile soil with adequate moisture; yield is severely reduced by
drought conditions. Marketing of caraway seed is very difficult as
there are no marketing boards, quotas, or stabilization programs and
markets in Canada are limited.
Entrepreneur who want the
informations on "General Information, Production, Cultivation ,
Extraction, Technology, Applications, properties, Patent, Nurseries,
Reports, Market, Projects, Guides, Suppliers & Buyers" can
Email as
to
informer@eth.net,
primaryinfo@gmail.com
|
