| |  | | Uses and Properties of Bay Laurel
Answered by: Conrad Richter
Question from: Lawrence Quao
Posted on: March 15, 2002
Can someone give me the properties of bay leaves? In other words, its uses and chemical composition.
Bay leaf is, of course, a culinary herb of great renown much used in Mediterranean cuisines such as the French and Italian. It is a small tree native to southern Europe and is grown as pot plant in cooler areas.
Bay is almost universally thought of as a culinary herb, but it does have medicinal effects too. According to John Lust in his book, "The Herb Book" (available from Richters), bay is "[a]stringent, carminative, digestive, stomachic. Bay oil, pressed from the berries and leaves, can be used in salves and liniment for rheumatism, bruises, and skin problems. Both fruit and leaves also stimulate the digestive apparatus. A decoction of fruit or leaves, made into a paste with honey or syrup, can be applied to the chest for colds and other chets problems."
For bay’s chemical composition Dr. Duke’s Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases at http://www.ars-grin.gov/duke/plants.html are an excellent source. Below is a list of non-ubitiquous chemicals in bay laurel (Laurus nobilis) from Dr. Duke’s database. You can get information about the medicinal properties of these chemicals at the database website.
1,8-CINEOLE Leaf 375 - 15,000 ppm
1-EPI-BICYCLOSESQUIPHELLANDRENE Leaf:
1-PENTEN-3-OL Leaf:
2-ETHYL-FURAN Leaf:
2-METHYL-BUTANAL Leaf:
2-METHYL-PROPANOL Leaf:
2-METHYL-PROPIONIC-ACID Leaf:
2-METHYL-PROPYL-2-METHYL-PROPIONATE Leaf:
2-METHYLETHYL-2-METHYLPROPIONATE Leaf:
2-METHYLPROPYL-ACETATE Leaf:
3-METHYL-BUTANAL Leaf:
3-METHYL-BUTANOL Leaf:
8-ACETOXYCARVOTANACETONE Leaf:
ACETIC-ACID Leaf:
ACETOEUGENOL Leaf 1 - 42 ppm
ALLO-AROMADENDRENE Leaf:
ALPHA-AMORPHENE Leaf:
ALPHA-BOURBONENE Plant:
ALPHA-CADINENE Leaf:
ALPHA-COPAENE Plant:
ALPHA-CUBEBENE Leaf:
ALPHA-GUAIENE Leaf:
ALPHA-GURJUNENE Leaf:
ALPHA-MUUROLENE Leaf:
ALPHA-PHELLANDRENE Leaf 10 - 120 ppm
ALPHA-PINENE Leaf 380 - 2,400 ppm
ALPHA-SELINENE Leaf:
ALPHA-TERPINENE Leaf 23 - 300 ppm
ALPHA-TERPINEOL Leaf 160 - 1,380 ppm
ALPHA-TERPINYL-ACETATE Leaf 656 - 1,000 ppm
ALPHA-TERPINYL-FORMATE Leaf:
ALPHA-THUJENE Leaf 480 - 600 ppm
ALPHA-YLANGENE Leaf:
ARTEMORIN Leaf 5,000 ppm;
BASSORIN Plant:
BENZALDEHYDE Leaf:
BETA-BISABOLENE Leaf:
BETA-CARYOPHYLLENE Leaf 30 - 180 ppm
BETA-CUBEBENE Leaf:
BETA-ELEMENE Plant:
BETA-EUDESMOL Leaf:
BETA-PHELLANDRENE Leaf:
BETA-PINENE Leaf 290 - 2,080 ppm
BETA-SELINENE Leaf:
BICYCLOGERMACRENE Leaf:
BICYCLOSESQUIPHELLANDRENE Plant:
BORNEOL Leaf:
BORNYL-ACETATE Plant:
BUTANAL Leaf:
BUTANOL Leaf:
CADINA-1(6),5-DIENE Plant:
CADINA-3,5-DIENE Plant:
CALAMENE Leaf:
CAMPHENE Leaf 24 - 186 ppm
CAMPHOR Plant:
CAPRYLIC-ACID Plant:
CARVONE Leaf:
CARYOPHYLLENE Leaf:
CARYOPHYLLENE-OXIDE Plant:
CINNAMIC-ACID Fruit:
CINNAMYL-ACETATE Leaf:
CIS-3-HEXANOL Leaf:
CIS-3-HEXENOL Leaf:
CIS-ALPHA-BISABOLENE Plant:
CIS-OCIMENE Leaf:
CIS-P-MENTH-2-EN-1-OL Leaf:
CIS-P-MENTHA-2,8-DIEN-1-OL Leaf:
CIS-SABINENE-HYDRATE Leaf:
COSTUNOLIDE Leaf 18,000 ppm;
CUBEBENE Leaf:
CUMINYL-ALCOHOL Leaf:
CYANIDIN Plant:
CYCLOSATIVENE Leaf:
DEHYDRO-1,8-CINEOLE Leaf:
DELTA-3-CARENE Leaf 15 - 162 ppm
DELTA-CADINENE Leaf:
DESACETYLLAURENOBIOLIDE Leaf 60 ppm;
ELEMICIN Plant:
ENANTHIC-ACID Plant:
ETHYL-2-METHYL-PROPIONATE Leaf:
ETHYL-PENTANOATE Leaf:
EUGENOL Leaf 18 - 1,335 ppm
EUGENYL-ACETATE Leaf:
FORMIC-ACID Leaf:
GAMMA-CADINENE Leaf:
GAMMA-ELEMENE Plant:
GAMMA-MUUROLENE Leaf:
GAMMA-TERPINENE Leaf 92 - 137 ppm
GERANIOL Fruit: Leaf:
GERANYL-ACETATE Leaf:
GUM Plant:
HEXADECANE Leaf:
HEXANAL Leaf:
HEXANOL Leaf:
ISOBUTYRIC-ACID Leaf:
KAEMPFEROL Plant:
LAURENOBIOLIDE Plant:
LAURENOLIDE Leaf:
LEDENE Leaf:
LEUCOCYANIDIN Leaf:
LIMONENE Leaf 80 - 500 ppm
LINALOL Leaf 800 - 3,340 ppm
METHANOL Leaf:
METHYL-CINNAMATE Fruit:
METHYL-EUGENOL Leaf 213 - 2,608 ppm
METHYL-HEPTENONE Leaf:
MYRCENE Leaf 33 - 320 ppm
MYRTENAL Leaf:
MYRTENOL Leaf:
NERAL Leaf:
NEROL Leaf:
NERYL-ACETATE Leaf:
P-CYMENE Leaf 62 - 340 ppm
PELARGONIC-ACID Leaf:
PENTANAL Leaf:
PENTANOIC-ACID Leaf:
PENTANOL Leaf:
PENTYL-ACETATE Leaf:
PERILLYL-ALCOHOL Leaf:
PHELLANDRAL Leaf:
PROPIONIC-ACID Leaf:
QUERCETIN Leaf:
REYNOSIN Leaf 2,500 ppm;
RUTIN Leaf:
SABINENE Leaf 450 - 2,650 ppm
SANTAMARINE Leaf 1,500 ppm;
TERPINEN-4-OL Leaf 238 - 1,380 ppm
TERPINOLENE Leaf 12 - 200 ppm
TETRADECANE Leaf:
THUJ-2-EN-4-OL Leaf:
TOLUENE Leaf:
TRANS-2-HEXENAL Leaf:
TRANS-CARVEOL Leaf:
TRANS-METHYL-EUGENOL Leaf:
TRANS-OCIMENE Leaf:
TRANS-SABINENE-HYDRATE Leaf:
TRIDECANE Leaf:
TULIPINOLIDE Root:
VALERIANIC-ACID Leaf:
VERLOTORIN Leaf 1,400 ppm;
VIRIDIFLOROL Leaf:
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