Composition of the essential oil from beta-Asarone free calamus.

The study of the essential oil extracted from american diploid calamus rhizomes proved that this variety does not contain the cancerogenic cis-isoasarone (beta-asarone) nor other phenylpropane derivatives which are believed to be toxic. Typical compounds of the examined oil are sesquiterpeneketones, e. g. shyobunones and acorones which pharmaceutically used calamus oils also contain. We believe the isoasarone-free calamus rhizome to be an alternative to the triploid calamus variety often used in todays phytotherapy.