Essential-Oil Composition of Daucus carota ssp. major (Pastinocello Carrot) and Nine Different Commercial Varieties of Daucus carota ssp. sativus Fruits by Guido Flamini* a ) b ), Elena Cosimi a ), Pier Luigi Cioni a ), Ilaria Molfetta c ), and Alessandra Braca a ) b ) a ) Dipartimento di Farmacia, Universita ` di Pisa, via Bonanno 33, I-56126 Pisa (phone: þ 39-050-2219686; fax: þ 39-050-2219660; e-mail: guido.flamini@farm.unipi.it.) b ) Centro Interdipartimentale die Ricerca Nutraceutica e Alimentazione per la Salute, Università di Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, I-56124 Pisa c ) Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari ed Agro-Ambientali, via del Borghetto 80, I-56124 Pisa The chemical composition of the essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation from the pastinocello carrot, Daucus carota ssp. major ( Vis.) Arcang. (flowers and achenes), and from nine different commercial varieties of D. carota L. ssp. sativus (achenes) was investigated by GC/MS analyses. Selective breeding over centuries of a naturally occurring subspecies of the wild carrot, D. carota L. ssp. sativus , has produced the common garden vegetable with reduced bitterness, increased sweetness, and minimized woody core. On the other hand, the cultivation of the pastinocello carrot has been abandoned, even if, recently, there has been renewed interest in the development of this species, which risks genetic erosion. The cultivated carrot ( D. carota ssp. sativus) and the pastinocello carrot ( D. carota ssp. major) were classified as different subspecies of the same species. This close relationship between the two subspecies urged us to compare the chemical composition of their essential oils, to evaluate the differences. The main essential-oil constituents isolated from the pastinocello fruits were geranyl acetate (34.2%), a- pinene (12.9%), geraniol (6.9%), myrcene (4.7%), epi-a-bisabolol (4.5%), sabinene (3.3%), and limonene (3.0%). The fruit essential oils of the nine commercial varieties of D. carota ssp. sativus were very different from that of pastinocello, as also confirmed by multivariate statistical analyses. Introduction. – Cultivated carrot, Daucus carota ssp. sativus [1] , was obtained in the Middle East by hybridization between strains of D. carota ssp. carota and D. carota ssp. maximus , and its cultivation in the Middle Age was spread to Western Europe. Through the improved agronomic selection, currently, carrot has an edible, plump, and sweet root [2]. D. carota ssp. major, known as pastinocello, seems to be an ancient variety, perhaps dating back to the Roman times, selected from the wild carrot. This variety would have preserved the characteristics of the first breeding, which are very different from those obtained with the latest improvements, as well in color, shape, and organoleptic requirements. Pastinocello carrots were traded together with other important products, such as olive oil, and were used by farmers for special celebrations. Not only the root, but also the aerial parts, leaves, and stems are eaten. The leaves, called erbuccio, tender and tasty, are eaten fresh in salads or boiled; in boiling water they are curative for kidney disease; the leaves are also used for preparing omelets or diuretic infusions. Pastinocello is one of the earliest forms of domestication of wild CHEMISTRY & BIODIVERSITY – Vol. 11 (2014) 1022  2014 Verlag Helvetica Chimica Acta AG, Zürich