Flavones and Flavor Components in Two Basil Leaf Chemotypes
The chemical composition of herbs and spices can vary dramatically between different species and different growing conditions. Herbs grown under different conditions that have different essential oil compositions are referred to as chemotypes.
Basil is an herb that has widely varying chemotypes1,2. The difference between basil leaves from two different sources was easily observed by using DART. A leaf from a basil plant purchased at a grocery store was compared with a leaf from a Vietnamese restaurant. A small particle from each leaf was analyzed placed in front of the DART source. Mass spectra were obtained within seconds. Elemental compositions were confirmed by exact masses and accurate isotopic abundance measurements.