An official website of the United States government.

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Plant Allium cepa (Liliaceae)

Common Names
Onion; Shallot
How this plant is used
Food
View the list of ubiquitous chemicals
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 not available not available not available 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 not available not available not available Itoh, T., Tamura, T., Mitsuhashi, T., Matsumoto, T. 1977. Sterols of Liliaceae. Phytochemistry, 16: 140-141.
24-METHYLENE-CYCLOARTENOL 0 Bulb not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
28-ISOFUCOSTEROL 0 Bulb not available not available not available 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 not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
3,4-DIMETHYL-2,5-DIOXO-2,5-DIHYDROTHIOPHENE 0 Essential Oil not available not available not available 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 not available not available not available 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 not available not available not available 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 not available not available not available Itoh, T., Tamura, T., Mitsuhashi, T., Matsumoto, T. 1977. Sterols of Liliaceae. Phytochemistry, 16: 140-141.
31-NORLANOSTENOL 0 Bulb not available not available not available Itoh, T., Tamura, T., Mitsuhashi, T., Matsumoto, T. 1977. Sterols of Liliaceae. Phytochemistry, 16: 140-141.
4-ALPHA-METHYL-ZYMOSTENOL 0 Bulb not available not available not available Itoh, T., Tamura, T., Mitsuhashi, T., Matsumoto, T. 1977. Sterols of Liliaceae. Phytochemistry, 16: 140-141.
4-HYDROXY-BENZOIC-ACID 0 Bulb not available not available not available 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 not available not available not available 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 not available not available not available 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 not available not available not available 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 not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
5-METHYL-2-N-HEXYL-2,3-DIHYDROFURAN-3-ONE 0 Bulb not available not available not available Wealth of India.
5-OCTYL-CYCLOPENTA-1,3-DIONE 2 Bulb not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
6(G)-BETA-FRUCTOSYL-SUCROSE 0 Bulb not available not available not available 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 not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
View the list of ubiquitous chemicals
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
Antiamblyopic 1 Duke, 1992 *
Antianaphylactic 2 Economic & Medicinal Plant Research, 6: 189.
Antiandrogenic 4 Malini, T. and Vanithakumari, G. 1989. Rat Toxicity Studies With B-Sitosterol. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 28: 221-234, 1990.
Antianemic 3 Martindale's 29th
Antianginal 3 Werbach, M. 1993. Healing with Food. Harper Collins, New York, 443 pp.
Antiangiogenic 3 Duke, 1992 *
Antianorectic 2 Davies, S., and Stewart, A. 1990. Nutritional Medicine. Avon Books, New York. 509pp.
Antianorexic 1 Martindale's 29th
Antianxiety 3 Davies, S., and Stewart, A. 1990. Nutritional Medicine. Avon Books, New York. 509pp.
Antiaphthic 1 Martindale's 28th
Antiapoplectic 1 Duke, 1992 *
Antiapoptotic 1 Duke, 1992 *
Antiarabiflavinotic 1 Martindale's 28th
Antiarrhythmic 7 Merck 11th Edition
Antiarteriosclerotic 3 Duke, 1992 *
Antiarthritic 14 Duke, 1992 *
Antiasthmatic 15 Werbach, M. 1993. Healing with Food. Harper Collins, New York, 443 pp.
Antiatherogenic 2 Duke, 1992 *
Antiatheromic 1 Cerda, J.J. Pectin in Health and Disease. HortScience, 25(12): 1485, 1990.
Antiatherosclerotic 14 Duke, 1992 *