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Volatile Components of Tamarind (Tamarindus indica

L.) Grown in Cuba
a b c
Jorge A. Pino , Rolando Marbot & Carlos Vazquez
a
Instituto de Investigaciones para la Industria Alimenticia (IIIA) , Carretera del Guatao
km 3 1/2, La Habana, 19200, Cuba E-mail:
b
Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas (CNIC) , Ave 25 y 158, Playa, La Habana,
Cuba
c
Jardín Botánico Nacional , La Habana, Cuba
Published online: 28 Nov 2011.

To cite this article: Jorge A. Pino , Rolando Marbot & Carlos Vazquez (2004) Volatile Components of Tamarind (Tamarindus
indica L.) Grown in Cuba, Journal of Essential Oil Research, 16:4, 318-320, DOI: 10.1080/10412905.2004.9698731

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10412905.2004.9698731

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 J. Essent. Oil Res., Pino et al.(July/August 2004)
16, 318-320

Volatile Components of Tamarind (Tamarindus indica

L.) Grown in Cuba

Jorge A. Pino*
Instituto de Investigaciones para la Industria Alimenticia (IIIA), Carretera del Guatao km 3 1/2, La Habana 19200, Cuba;
jperez@iiia.edu.cu
Rolando Marbot
Downloaded by [University of Colorado at Boulder Libraries] at 02:27 27 December 2014

Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas (CNIC), Ave 25 y 158, Playa, La Habana, Cuba
Carlos Vazquez
Jardín Botánico Nacional, La Habana, Cuba

Abstract
Volatile components of tamarind fruits grown in Cuba were isolated by simultaneous steam distillation/solvent
extraction. The fruit pulp had approximately 3 mg/kg of total volatile compounds. Eighty-one constituents were
identified, from which 2-phenylacetaldehyde, 2-furfural and hexadecanoic acid were the major compounds.

Key Word Index

Tamarindus indica, Leguminosae, tamarind, fruit volatiles, 2-phenylacetaldehyde, 2-furfural, hexadecanoic acid.

Plant Name Present Work

Tamarindus indica L. (Leguminosae), tamarind.
Source
Plant material was collected from trees growing in the
National Botanic Garden, near Havana.
Plant Part
Fully grown, mature fruits were collected. They were stored
at room temperature and processed within one week of harvest.
Previous Work
The tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.), native to the tropi-
cal Africa, is distributed throughout practically all the tropical
countries of the world. The fruits are flattish, bean-like and
irregularly shaped pads. As they mature, the pods fill out and
the juicy, acidulous pulp turns brown or reddish-brown. The
most outstanding characteristic of the tamarind fruit is that it
is the most acidic of all fruits, with a total acidity range varying
from 12-24% as tartaric acid; however, it also has a high total
sugar content, varying from 21-31% (1). The overall aroma of
tamarind is characterized by its warm, citrus-like notes and
some roasted undertones. The chemical composition of the
volatiles of tamarind grown in other regions has been the
subject of several studies (2-6).
Fresh fruit pulp (400 g) from ripe fruits was blended with
distilled water, adjusted to pH 7, and continuously steam
distilled-diethyl ether extracted in a Likens-Nickerson appa-
ratus for 90 min. The extract was dried over anhydrous sodium
sulfate, concentrated using a Kuderna-Danish concentrator
and finally, reduced to a volume of about 0.2 mL under a
gentle stream of nitrogen.
The extract was analyzed by GC using a Hewlett-Packard
6890 gas chromatograph equipped with a flame ionization
detector (FID). The separations were performed using a
SPB-5 column (30 m x 0.25 mm, 0.25 µm film thickness) with
an oven temperature program of 60°C (2 min), 4°C/min to
250°C (20 min). The carrier gas was helium with a flow-rate
of 1 mL/min. The temperature of the injector and detector
was 250°C. The injection was made in the split mode (1:10
ratio). Linear retention indices were calculated against those
of n-paraffins (7). These conditions were used for quantitative
analysis, by the internal standard method.
GC/MS analyses were performed with a Hewlett-Packard
series 6890 gas chromatograph equipped with an HP-5973
mass-selective detector. The chromatographic conditions were
the same as those described for GC-FID. The detector oper-
ated in electron impact mode (70 eV) at 230°C. Detection was
performed in the scan mode between 30 and 400 amu.
Component identification was carried out by comparing
the relative retention indices and mass spectra of reference

*Address for correspondence Received: January 2002

Revised: May 2002
1041-2905/04/0004-0318$6.00/0—© 2004 Allured Publishing Corp. Accepted: July 2002

318/Journal of Essential Oil Research Vol. 16, July/August 2004

 T. indica

Table I. Volatile components of tamarind fruit

Compound RI mg/kg Compound RI mg/kg

acetaldehyde 435 <0.01 limonene 1030 0.15

ethanol 500 <0.01 2-phenylacetaldehyde 1046 0.76
diacetyl 612 <0.01 γ-terpinene 1061 0.01
ethyl acetate 615 0.08 acetophenone 1065 <0.01
isovaleraldehyde 650 0.09 methyl benzoate 1071 0.02
2-methylbutanal 715 0.03 cis-linalool oxide* 1074 0.01
1-penten-3-ol 725 <0.01 4-methylbenzaldehyde 1079 0.02
2-ethylfuran 730 0.01 terpinolene 1089 <0.01
isoamyl alcohol 736 0.01 trans-linalool oxide* 1089 <0.01
2-methylbutanol 738 <0.01 α,p-dimethylstyrene 1091 <0.01
Downloaded by [University of Colorado at Boulder Libraries] at 02:27 27 December 2014

1-methyl-1H-pyrrole 743 0.03 2-butoxyethanol acetate 1096 0.02

1H-pyrrole 757 0.02 nonanal 1102 0.02
pyrrolidine 768 <0.01 2-phenylethanol 1110 0.02
toluene 775 0.01 4-methylacetophenone 1165 <0.01
3-methyl-2-butenol 778 <0.01 (E,Z)-2,6-nonadienal 1167 <0.01
hexanal 800 0.02 2-methylacetophenone 1170 <0.01
1-ethyl-1H-pyrrole 815 <0.01 terpinen-4-ol 1177 <0.01
2-furfural 830 0.62 octanoic acid 1187 <0.01
(E)-2-hexenal 854 0.01 α-terpineol 1189 0.02
ethylbenzene 864 0.02 methyl salicylate 1190 0.03
p-xylene 884 0.13 safranal 1192 <0.01
o-xylene 894 0.04 α-ionene 1201 0.02
heptanal 900 <0.01 2,3-dihydrobenzofuran 1223 <0.01
methional 904 0.01 2-phenylethyl butyrate 1234 <0.01
2-acetylfuran 910 <0.01 (E)-2-decenal 1261 0.02
α-pinene 939 <0.01 vitispirane 1272 0.02
propylbenzene 957 <0.01 (E)-anethole 1283 <0.01
benzaldehyde 961 0.03 1H-indole 1288 0.04
5-methylfurfural 962 0.01 methyl decanoate 1325 <0.01
β-pinene 980 <0.01 eugenol 1356 <0.01
6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one 985 <0.01 (E)-2-undecenal 1361 <0.01
sabinene 987 <0.01 decanoic acid 1372 <0.01
octanal 1000 <0.01 α-cedrene 1409 0.01
α-phellandrene 1006 <0.01 geranyl acetone 1454 <0.01
(E,E)-2,4-heptadienal 1009 0.01 dodecanoic acid 1568 0.02
α-terpinene 1018 <0.01 tetradecanoic acid 1771 0.06
1,2,4-trimethylbenzene 1023 <0.01 methyl hexadecanoate 1927 <0.01
p-cymene 1026 0.01 hexadecanoic acid 1973 0.54
1,8-cineole 1033 <0.01 ethyl linoleate 2159 0.02
benzyl alcohol 1035 <0.01 octadecanoic acid 2172 0.02
cyclohexyl acetate 1042 <0.01

*
furanoid form

compounds. Mass spectra of published data were also com-
pared (8,9).
The yield of total volatiles, estimated by the addition of
a measured amount of methyl undecanoate (internal stan-
dard) to the sample prior to extraction, was near to 3 mg/kg
fruit pulp. A complete list of the compounds identified, in
the order of elution from SPB-5 column, is given in Table
I. Eighty-one volatile compounds were identified from
which aromatic and furan derivatives, and fatty acids were
dominant. The major constituents were 2-
phenylacetaldehyde (25.4% of the total volatiles), 2-fur-
fural (20.7%) and hexadecanoic acid (18.1%). The odor
character of 2-phenylacetaldehyde is fruity and honey-like.
The 2-furfural has a sweet character and caramel-like
flavor. This compound, together with 2-acetylfuran and 5-
methylfurfural, is usually formed as a degradation product
of ascorbic acid and sugars. Nevertheless, the concentrate
was found, on appropriate redilution with water, to possess
the characteristic fresh tamarind aroma. The citrus note of
tamarind may be due to the presence of limonene. These
constituents appear to contribute significantly to the over-
all tamarind aroma.
References
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(Tamarindus indica L.). J. Agric. Food Chem., 23, 1195-1199 (1975).
3. A. Askar, S.E. El-Nemr and H. Siliha, Aroma constituents of Egyptian
tamarind pulp. Deut. Lebensmitt.-Rundsch., 83, 108-110 (1987).

Vol. 16, July/August 2004 Journal of Essential Oil Research/319

 Pino et al.
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Vol. 16, July/August 2004