The genus Cinnamomum

338 M. Shylaja, P.N. Ravindran and K. Nirmal Babu
minor amounts of monoterpene hydrocarbons, other monoterpene alcohols and methyl
cinnamate (Sthapit and Tuladhar, 1993).
C. impressinervium Meissn.
C. impressinervium Meissner in DC. Prodr. 15 (1) 25, 1864; Hkf. Fl.Brit. India, 5: 129,
1885; Kanjilal et al. Fl. Assam, 4:58, 1940.
C. impressinervium grows wildly in the north-east of India, where it is also cultivated
occasionally. It is sold as the best quality tejpat (Nath and Baruah, 1994). It is a medium
sized evergreen tree, 6–8 m tall, with rough bark, aromatic leaves, smells like tejpat
leaves, glabrous, shining above, triplinerved, lateral nerves reaching the base of the acumen,
leaf buds silky, panicles subterminal to axillary, shorter than leaves, up to 6.5 cm
long, glaborate, perianth 3 3, subequal, minutely puberulous, truncate cup-shaped
fruiting tepals, pedicel obconic, pedicel with fruiting tepal up to 8 mm long.
This species occurs mainly in the North Cachar hills and Cachar districts of Assam
at an elevation of 800–1050 m. Leaves are sold and used as the best quality tejpat by
the people of the North Cachar Hill district of Assam. Nath and Baruah (1994) and
Nath et al. (1999) carried out chemical analysis of wild and cultivated plants (Table
15.6) and reported 23 components in the oil of a sample, the important ones being
eugenol (88.3%) and limonene (4.1%) (Table 15.7). Fresh leaves yielded 1.8–2% of oil,
having n d 25 1.5236, d 25 1.0332 and []d 25 15°. The oil content is more than
that in C. tamala (Indian cassia) and the oil has a higher eugenol content, which may
be the reason for considering this as the best quality tejpat.
C. japonicum Sieb.
C. japonicum Siebold in Verhandel. Batav. Genootselv.kunst & Wentenselv. 12, 23,1830;
Nees, Syst.Laur.79, 1836; Steudel, Nom. ed.2, 1, 366, 1840; Siebold & Zuccarini, Fl.
Jap. Fam. Nat.2,78, 1846; Zollinger, Syst. Verg.2, 113, 1854; Meissner in DC, Prodr.
15(1), 16, 1864; Miquel, Ann. Miss. Bot. Lugd. bat.1, 268, 1864; 2, 195, 1867; Stuart,
Chinese Mat. Med., 109, 1911; Nakai in Bot. Mag. Tokyo, 517, 1927; Fl. Syl. Koreana,
22, 25, 1939; Sasaki, List pl. Formosa, 192, 1928; Makinol Hemoto, Fl. Jap. ed.2; 365,
Table 15.6 Major chemical constituents of the leaf oils of
C. impressinervium
Component Wild % Cultivated %
Eugenol 83.2 88.3
-Pinene 1.2 0.5
-Pinene 0.2 0.1
-3-Carene 7.2 1.6
Limonene 2.3 4.1
p-Cymene 0.7 0.6
Guaicol 0.4 0.3
-Terpineol 0.4 0.3
-Caryophyllene 0.2 0.1
Eugenol acetate 1.0 1.1
Source: Nath and Baruah, 1994.