Ona Nivinskiene,* Rita Butkiene and Danute Mockute

Abstract: Angelica archangelica L. seeds (fruits) were collected in three habitats in 2004 and 2005. Monoterpene hydrocarbons (59.3–82.9%) comprised the largest part of the seed oils. One hundred and five identified constituents made up 84.6–95.7% of the oils. The oils of ripe seeds were rich in β-phellandrene (33.6–63.4%). α-Pinene (4.2–15.8%) and sabinene (20.4%) were the second major constitutents in oils. Other main components of ripe seed oils were α-phellandrene, myrcene and germacrene D. The amounts of β-phellandrene decreased from 57.0–63.4% to 39.0–41.3% during the storage of the seeds for twelve months. The composition of the seed embryo oil differed from those of the ripe seeds. The dominant compounds were myrcene (21.8%), α-pinene (13.2%), sabinene (8.4%) and zingiberene (7.7%). The seed embryo oil contained about twice higher amount of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons. Only 5.2% of β-phellandrene was present in the seed embryo oil.

Essential oils of seeds (fruits) and roots of Angelica archangelica are used for healing purposes, spice and fragrance component in perfumery and cosmetics (1–5). The above oils exhibited antispasmodic, stimulant, carminative, diuretic, nervine, tonic and some other activities (1–4). Angelica oils are used as flavoring agents in most food categories and in alcoholic drinks, especially liquors (2). Only two species of genus Angelica, Angelica archangelica L. and Angelica silvestris L. are growing wild in Lithuania (6).