Carum carvi L. – Caraway or Persian cumin

Carum carvi is a herbaceous plant in Apiaceae family (Th-TH). Annual (C. carvi var. annuum) and biennial varieties are (C. carvi var. biennis) also known. Biennial caraway has a long, pale-like, thick root; the stem is branched, erect, 60-80 cm tall. In the first growing season only the leave-rosettes develop over the ground surface. The leaves are trifoliate-pinnate with long stalks (about 20 cm). The flower stems grow in the second growing season after winter. The inflorescences are compound umbels, the petals are white. The caraway fruits are light brown crescent-shaped achenes with five pale ridges. The achenes are 3-7 mm long, 1-1.25 mm wide, thousand seed weight: 2-3.5 g. The annual caraway has less branched, shorter, thinner roots. The leaves are light green, the flower stems are 80-100 cm tall, grow in the year of sowing. The inflorescences are the same with the biennial type, but the fruits are bigger: 5-9 mm long, 1.2-1.5 mm wide. Thousand seed weight: 2.5-4.0 g.

Carum carvi is Eurasian floral element. The biennial variety is native to Central-, North Europe and to the highlands of Asia; in Hungary it is also common. It prefers humid climate, cultivated in Finland, Netherlands, Poland. The annual variety prefers warmer climate, native to the Eastern coast of Mediterranean Sea. Both varieties produce big yields only on high quality, nutrient-rich, calcic soils.

Caraway’s drugs are the dried fruits of the plant (Carvi fructus) and the essential oil distilled from the ripen achenes ( Carvi aetheroleum). The drugs are mentioned by the Hungarian Pharmacopoeia VIII. and in the ESCOP-monographs too. For high quality drug the pharmacopoeia requires at least 30 ml/kg carvone-like essential oil content in the crude drug.

Caraway contains essential oil in 2-7 % with d-carvone as main compound (50-70 %). Other components of the oil are d-limonene, dihydrocarvone, carveol and dihydrocarveol. The fruits contain 20 % protein, 10-18 % fatty oil and 15 % saccharoids too.

Spasmolytic, carminative, digestive, antibacterial and antifungal activity of Carum carvi has been proved. The drug is often applied internally in form of teas, tea mixtures for curing gastric disorders, cramps and distension. Caraway fruit is a popular spice in the food industry, but also an important cosmetic material. The application of the essential oil is perspective as a biological pesticide, because carvone has an inhibitor activity on seed germination and sprouting of bulbs.