Volatile flavour components of jamun fruit (Syzygium cumini L)

Jamun (Syzygium cumini L), an underutilized tropical fruit, is valued for its medicinal and therapeutic properties. Volatile components from the fruits were extracted by simultaneous distillation and solvent extraction method using modified Likens and Nickerson apparatus. The volatile compounds were analysed by GC–MS, which showed the presence of 30 compounds. Twenty‐nine compounds, representing more than 99% of the volatile mixture, were identified. trans‐Ocimene, cis‐Ocimene, β‐myrcene and α‐terpineol were found to be the major compounds. Three esters, dihydrocarvyl acetate, geranyl butyrate and terpinyl valerate, were identified and may be responsible for the characteristic flavour of the jamun fruit. This is the first report on the chemical composition of the volatile oil of the fruit of S. cumini. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.