Chemical Constituents and Uses of Davana Oil

Source of Davana and its Distribution:

Davana oil is the volatile oil obtained by the steam distillation of flowering herbs of Artemisia pallens belonging to the family Compositae. This plant is distributed in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. It is commercially cultivated in South India in Kolar and Chittoor districts.

Properties of Davana:

English: Grangea maderaspatana (Syn. Artemisia moderaspatana, Perdicium tomentosum) – Madras Carpet • Hindi: Mustaru, Bhediachim • Manipuri: লৈবুংগৌ Leibungou • Marathi: Mashipatri • Tamil: Masipathri • Malayalam: Nilampala • Telugu: మస్తరు Mastaru • Kannada: Davana • Bengali: Namuti • Gujarati: Jhinkimudi – at Pocharam lake, Andhra Pradesh, India. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The flowers are tiny yellow in colour. It has wooly stem. The seeds are having sweet smell. Davana oil is pale yellow to yellowish brown in colour. It is transparent oil, light with strong flavour. It is soluble in alcohol and insoluble in water.

Chemical constituents of Davana:

English: Glass vial containing Davana (Artemisia pallens) Essential Oil (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It contains sesquiterpenes namely davanone, artemone and non-davanone. Aroma of the oil is because of davana furans. The minor constituents include cineol, borneol, geraniol, linalool and eugenol etc.

Uses of Davana:

It is used as a pleasant flavouring agent and also used in perfumes. Flowers contain the higher content of oil.