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Ajowan Essential Oil
Ajowan Trachyspermum copticum, Trachyspermum. ammi is also known by the names Bishop’s Weed, carum copticum, ajwain, carom ajowan. Native to Southern India, but is also cultivated in Iran, Egypt Pakistan and Afghanistan. Ajowan is an annual herbaceous plant, 30 -70 cm (1 -2 ft) in height, bearing feathery leaves and red flowers, a member of the Apiaceae or Umbelliferae family, which has some 2,700 members including dill, caraway and cumin.. The stems are striate; the leaves are 2-3-pinnately divided, the segments linear. The flowers occur in terminal or compound umbels, white and small, the fruits are ovoid, greyish brown; the mericarps, which are the components of the fruit, are compressed, with distinct ridges and tubercular surface. The seeds are similar to celery seed in size and shape, and is related to caraway and cumin.
The light brown to purple red ajowan seeds are used extensively in Asian curry powders and chutneys and as a general treatment for intestinal problems. The crushed seeds are dried for use in scented powders and pot pourri. Before WW11 almost the whole production of ajowan seeds from Afghanistan, India and Egypt was exported to Germany for extraction of thymol (used as an antiseptic) unfortunately just when it was most needed the thymol production collapsed. Nowadays thymol is mostly synthetic.
Ajowan seeds contain an essential oil which is about 50% thymol which is a strong germicide, anti-spasmodic and fungicide. Thymol is also used in toothpaste and perfumery. It is used in a steeped liquid form against diarrhea and flatulence. In India the seeds are used as a household remedy for indigestion and colic, and used in poultices to relieve asthma and arthritis. It also has aphrodisiac properties and the Ananga Ranga prescribes it for increasing a husband’s enjoyment in his middle years. It is customary in India to extract the fruits or the entire herb with diluted alcohol in order to prepare a tincture. This tincture is a powerful germicide and it has attained rather widespread use in local medicine where the plant grows.
Ajowan seeds are used as a spice. The grayish-green seeds are striped and curved (similar to cumin or caraway seeds in appearance), often with a fine silk stalk attached. They are usually sold whole. The seeds are often chewed on their own for medicinal value, tasting bitingly hot and bitter, leaving the tongue numb for a while.
The essential oil of ajowan is steam distilled from the seeds and also from the herb, very little use for the oil in modern aromatherapy, as it is very similar to thyme, but not so rich. A small amount being used in soaps, detergents and air-fresheners, and some use in canned foods.
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| Perfumery Uses: | Soaps, detergents and air-fresheners, otherwise Red thyme is usually preferred. |
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