Амбрета

The plant

Abelmoschus moschatus is an aromatic and medicinal plant of the family Malvaceae, native to Asia and Australia. It is an evergreen shrub. It has been growing throughout India and is cultivated in China, West Indies and Indonesia. The plant grows on mountain slopes and in valleys. The yellow flowers with purple centres last only a day and soon give way to the fruit. The fruits are large, fuzzy capsules, green at first and brown when ripe, containing the ambrette seeds. The species has the conservation status Least Concern. The species name moschatus is scientific Latin for 'musk', a reference to the heavy fragrance of the seeds.

Harvest

The brown, ripe seed pods are harvested between July and November, depending on the region. The seeds are separated from the pods and dried in the sun for about two days to reduce humidity. They are then cleaned with a net to remove impurities and non-exportable ambrette seeds.

Chemistry

GC-MS analysis of ambrette seed oil revealed 35 compounds. The major components were farnesol acetate (51.45%) and ambrettolide (12.96%). A previous report gave 2E,6E-farnesyl acetate at 59.1%, hexadec-7-en-16-olide at 7.8% and decyl acetate at 5.6%. Ambrettolide is a lactone. Its IUPAC name is (8Z)-1-oxacycloheptadec-8-en-2-one, its formula is C₁₆H₂₈O₂ and its molecular weight is 252.39. Farnesol acetate is an ester of farnesol and acetic acid. The oil dissolves in fixed oils and does not dissolve in glycerin or propylene glycol. The oil showed an inhibitory effect against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis in an antibacterial assay.

Other uses

The seeds are used for various therapeutic purposes, which include treating headaches, cramps, muscular aches and pains, depression and other nervous complaints. Different parts of the plant are used in Ayurvedic herbal medicine, including as an antispasmodic. The most widespread use of the seeds is to flavour coffee and tea, mainly in the Middle East. Unripe pods, leaves and new shoots are eaten as vegetables. In industry the root mucilage provides sizing for paper. Tobacco is sometimes flavoured with the flowers.