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Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases
U.S. Department of Agriculture
  1. Home
  2. Allium cepa

Allium cepa (Liliaceae)

Common Names
Onion; Shallot
How this plant is used
Food
View the list of ubiquitous chemicals
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List of plant chemicals.
Click on column headings to sort table by that column. *Unless otherwise noted all references are to (Duke, 1992)
Chemical Name Activity Count Plant Part Low Parts Per Million High Parts Per Million Standard Deviation Reference
2-PROPENYL-L-CYSTEINE-SULFOXIDE 0 Bulb Thomas, D. J., Parkin, K. L. 1994. Quantification of Alk(en)yl-L-Cysteine Sulfoxides and Related Amino Acids in Alliums by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography. J. Agr. Food Chem., 42(8): 1632-1638.
24-METHYLENE-CYCLOARTANOL 5 Bulb Itoh, T., Tamura, T., Mitsuhashi, T., Matsumoto, T. 1977. Sterols of Liliaceae. Phytochemistry, 16: 140-141.
24-METHYLENE-CYCLOARTENOL 0 Bulb *
28-ISOFUCOSTEROL 0 Bulb Itoh, T., Tamura, T., Mitsuhashi, T., Matsumoto, T. 1977. Sterols of Liliaceae. Phytochemistry, 16: 140-141.
3,4-DIMETHYL-2,5-DIOXO-2,5-DIHYDROTHIOPHENE 0 Bulb *
3,4-DIMETHYL-2,5-DIOXO-2,5-DIHYDROTHIOPHENE 0 Essential Oil Albrand, M., Dubois, P., Etievant, P., Gelin, R., Tokarska, B. 1980. Identification of a New Volatile Compound in Onion (Allium cepa) and Leek (Allium porum): 3,4-dimethyl-2,5-dioxo-2,5-dihydrothiophene. J. Agric. Food Chem., 28(5): 1037-1038.
3,4-DIMETHYLTHIOPHENE 0 Bulb Leung, A.Y., Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients Used in Food, Drugs, and Cosmetics, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1980.
3,4-DIMETHYLTHIOPHENE 0 Essential Oil Albrand, M., Dubois, P., Etievant, P., Gelin, R., Tokarska, B. 1980. Identification of a New Volatile Compound in Onion (Allium cepa) and Leek (Allium porum): 3,4-dimethyl-2,5-dioxo-2,5-dihydrothiophene. J. Agric. Food Chem., 28(5): 1037-1038.
31-NORCYCLOARTENOL 0 Bulb Itoh, T., Tamura, T., Mitsuhashi, T., Matsumoto, T. 1977. Sterols of Liliaceae. Phytochemistry, 16: 140-141.
31-NORLANOSTENOL 0 Bulb Itoh, T., Tamura, T., Mitsuhashi, T., Matsumoto, T. 1977. Sterols of Liliaceae. Phytochemistry, 16: 140-141.
4-ALPHA-METHYL-ZYMOSTENOL 0 Bulb Itoh, T., Tamura, T., Mitsuhashi, T., Matsumoto, T. 1977. Sterols of Liliaceae. Phytochemistry, 16: 140-141.
4-HYDROXY-BENZOIC-ACID 0 Bulb Das, V. S. R., Rao, J. V. S. 1964. Phenolic Acids of Onion Plant. Curr. Sci., 33(15): 471-472.
4-HYDROXY-BENZOIC-ACID 0 Leaf Das, V. S. R., Rao, J. V. S. 1964. Phenolic Acids of Onion Plant. Curr. Sci., 33(15): 471-472.
4-HYDROXY-BENZOIC-ACID 0 Root Das, V. S. R., Rao, J. V. S. 1964. Phenolic Acids of Onion Plant. Curr. Sci., 33(15): 471-472.
5-DEHYDRO-AVENASTEROL 0 Seed Kintia, P. K., Degtiaryova, L. P., Balashova, N. N., Shvets, S. A. 1987. Sterols and Steroidal Glycosides of Bulb Onion Seeds. Fecs. Int. Conf. Chem. Biotechol. Biol. Act. Nat. Prod., (Proc.) 3rd: 166-170.
5-HEXYL-CYCLOPENTA-1,3-DIONE 2 Bulb *
5-METHYL-2-N-HEXYL-2,3-DIHYDROFURAN-3-ONE 0 Bulb Wealth of India.
5-OCTYL-CYCLOPENTA-1,3-DIONE 2 Bulb *
6(G)-BETA-FRUCTOSYL-SUCROSE 0 Bulb Bacon, J. S. D. 1959. Trisaccharide Fraction of Some Monocotyledons. Biochem. J., 73: 507-514.
9,10,13-TRIHYDROXY-OCTADEC-11-ENOIC-ACID 0 Bulb *
View the list of ubiquitous chemicals
Download these results as:
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List of plant activities.
Click on column headings to sort table by that column. *Unless otherwise noted all references are to (Duke, 1992)
Activity Chemical Count Reference
COMT-Inhibitor 1 *
Contraceptive 2 Martindale's 28th
Convulsant 1 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
Copper-Antagonist 1 Challem, J., Berkson, Burt, and Smith, Melissa Dianne. 2000.
Syndrome X - The complete nutritional program to prevent and reservse insulin resistance. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 272 pp. $24.95
Copper-Chelator 2 *
Cosmetic 2 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
COX-1-Inhibitor 2 *
COX-2-Inhibitor 7 *
Cyclooxygenase-Inhibitor 12 *
Cytochrome-P450-1A2-Inhibitor 1 *
Cytochrome-P450-2E1-Inhibitor 1 *
Cytoprotective 2 Newall, C. A., Anderson, L. A. and Phillipson, J. D. 1996. Herbal Medicine - A Guide for Health-care Professionals. The Pharmaceutical Press, London. 296pp.
Cytotoxic 5 *
Decalcifier 1 Merck 11th Edition
Deiodinase-Inhibitor 1 Jim Duke's personal files.
Deliriant 1 Davies, S., and Stewart, A. 1990. Nutritional Medicine. Avon Books, New York. 509pp.
Demulcent 2 *
Deodorant 1 Martindale's 29th
Depressant 2 Cooper-Driver, G. A., Chemical substances in plants toxic to animals, pp. 213-47 in Rechcigl, M., Jr., ed. CRC Handbook of Naturally Occurring Food Toxicants, CRC Press, Boca Raton, 1983, 339 pp.
Dermatitigenic 4 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.