Authentication of misidentified Pimenta species in India using volatile compound profiling and multivariate analysis
1Division of Crop Production and Postharvest Technology, ICAR- Indian Institute of Spices Research, Kozhikode, Kerala – 673 012, India. 2Division of Crop Improvement and Biotechnology, ICAR- Indian Institute of Spices Research, Kozhikode, Kerala – 673 012, India. Corresponding e-mail: ranjanigop@gmail.com
DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2026.v28i01.5
Full text PDF Allspice (Pimenta dioica), a Caribbean tree spice introduced to the tropics, including India, has been found to share morphological and anatomical traits with the Bay Rum tree (P. racemosa), though only Allspice berries are suitable for culinary use. Thus, the present work was undertaken to reiterate the identity of Pimenta species grown in India using volatile compounds-based multivariate analysis. The essential oil (EO) was distilled from the samples, and its constituents were profiled using GC-MS. The results showed that the berry essential oil EO of Pimenta species from Kerala showed eugenol as the major constituent (39.9 %), followed by myrcene (22.2 %). Other major constituents were chavicol, limonene, linalool, and trans-?-caryophyllene. The EO distilled from samples collected at three locations in the Western Ghats region of India also showed a composition similar to that of P. racemosa. Moreover, of the five market samples tested, three indigenous samples showed a volatile profile of P. racemosa, and the remaining two exotic samples matched the profile of P. dioica. The study thus proved that the spice grown and marketed as Allspice in India is not Pimenta dioicia but its related species Pimenta racemosa.
