Amomum biflorum (Jack) is commonly know as Sa nhan hai hoa and is distributed widely in Vietnam. Its fruits are used as spices and in traditional medicine. Essential oils from Amomum leaves, pseudo-stems, rhizomes and roots which were purchased from the Tan Phu afforestation yards were hydrodistilled by Clevenger apparatus and characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Major constituents of the oil were camphor (40.22 – 46.44%) in leaves, fenchyl acetate (39.86%) in roots and 2-beta-pinene (26.83%) in rhizomes. In addition, the study also investigated some factors which affect yield and chemical constituent of volatile oils, such as: parts of plant, time and site of collection, drying time, etc. Essential oils were tested for biological activity on mice Mus musculus var albino. It shows potential as diuretic agent.
Nguyen Xuan Minh Ai, Dinh Binh Phuong, Hoang Viet
College of Science, VAST
(Proceedings of 3rd National Scientific Conference on Ecology and Biological Resources, Hanoi 22th October 2009 - IEBR)