Caraway

Caraway, Carum carvi L., a biennial herbaceous plant of the umbellifer family, growing wild almost throughout Europe in meadows, fields, and gardens. It is cultivated in the USSR, most European countries, the northern part of the USA, in Morocco and Tunisia. The fruits are collected—Fructus Carvi. Since the fruits of C. easily shed when fully ripe, they are usually collected (in July) before the complete browning of the stems and umbels (signs of full maturity). The fruits are schizocarps, elongated, strongly compressed from the sides, up to 5 mm long. The fruits are brownish in color, have a pleasant aroma, and a bitter-spicy taste. The fruits of C. contain from 3.1% to 7.1% essential oil, from 7% to 12.7% fatty oil, sugar, tannins, resin, wax, and other substances. In medicine, Aqua Carvi and Infus. Carvi have rare application as a carminative and intestinal stimulant. In the USA and England, the fruits of C. are included in various complex stomachica. The fruits of C. find their greatest application in the food industry (they are sprinkled on bread, used in the preparation of soups and fried dishes, in confectionery products, in cheese factories), in the vodka, liqueur, and finally in the perfume industry. Most of the caraway is exported mainly to France, Germany, and the USA. - Caraway oil, Oleum Carvi, transparent