Objective: To analyze the chemical constituents of volatile oil from the seeds and shells of Amomum taso-Ko

and provide a basis for its development and application. Method: The steam distillation was used to the extraction of volatile oils and then calculated its content. The constituents of these volatile oils were separated and identified by GC-MS. Result: 35

48

42 compounds of three volatile oils of Amomum tsao-ko seeds from different origins were identified respectively

which account for 94.8%

95.6%

93.7% of their total peak area respectively. 55

70

68 compounds of the volatile oil samples from Amomum tsao-ko shells were identified

which account for 94.5%

91.5%

91.4% of their total oils. There were 29 common constituents in the volatile oil from the seeds and shells of Amomum taso-ko

which were 1

8-cineole

α-pinene

β-pinene

α-terpineol

nerolidol

and so on

which account for 95.4%-94.1% and 71.0%-77.6% of the total oils from the seeds and shells respectively. There were 18 special constituents in the volatile oils from the shells of Amomum taso-ko

such as β-eudesmol

fenchol

trans-(-)pinocarveol

δ-cadinene

(-)-myrtenol

and so on

which were not be found in the volatile oils from the seeds. Conclusion: The volatile oils from the shells were about 1/4 of the seeds'. Most of the constituents in the volatile oils from the seeds and shells of Amomum taso-ko are similar

all of the volatile oils contain a higher content of 1

8-cineole and α-terpineol

but still have some difference between the constituents of these two kinds of volatile oils.