Biology and chemistry of conifer oils

Abstract

Conifers are widespread through the northern hemisphere and many of their essential oils and oleoresins have acquired high commercial significance. After a short review of conifer taxonomy and some cytological aspects of oil secretion and accumulation, general characteristics of conifer oils and resins are discussed in more detail. Since considerable differences can be found in literature concerning the composition of commercially important conifer oils, we have analysed some of them originating from several species of the genera Abies, Larix, Pseudotsuga, Tsuga, Picea and Pinus. The results were compared with those of self‐distilled oils from authentic botanical origin and discussed in regard to the systematic grouping of the individual conifer. In addition to investigations of the chemistry of selected conifer oils, the paper outlines the influence of the raw material, especially the relation of needles to twigs and the effect that this variable has on the composition of an individual oil.

Chemical Composition of Essential Oil and Hydrosol from Picea mariana Bark Residue

“…They were both mainly composed of hydrocarbon monoterpenes; some sesquiterpenes were also determined, due to water distillation being slightly more efficient to extract sesquiterpenes (2.9% compared to 0.8% of the total oil for steam distillation). The proportion of sesquiterpenes has been reported to rarely exceed 10% in conifer needle oils previously studied, and they seem to be very scarce in Picea oils in general (Kubeczka and Schultze 1987). Oxygenated monoterpenoids make up part of the composition of oils obtained from black spruce bark, being less important in the essential oil from SD than in the oil obtained from WD.…”

“…For example, two different essential oils are produced from the cinnamon tree, one from leaves containing 87% eugenol as the major component and one from bark containing 97% of cinnamaldehyde (Singh et al 2007). As previously reported, the composition of essential oils from conifers can also vary depending on the part analyzed (Kubeczka and Schultze 1987).…”

“…These differences could perhaps have been explained by the degree of maturity of the plant tissue: juvenile bark and wood in twigs were compared with mature stem bark in this study. Thus, hydrocarbon monoterpenes are the most common constituents of conifers resins, especially pinenes, sabinene, 3-carene, and limonene (Kubeczka and Schultze 1987), whereas the oxygenated monoterpenoids were more abundant in the flowers or leaves' essential oils (Stevanovic and Perrin 2009). This can be easily seen in the chromatogram (Fig.…”

Effect of Cigarette Smoke on Diabetic Skin and Protection with Topical Administration of Pinus halepensis Extract

“…They are also used as fragrances in cosmetics, flavoring additives for food and beverages, scenting agents in a variety of household products and intermediates in the synthesis of perfume chemicals [20] [21]. Several phytochemical analyses of P. halepensis have been published on terpenes [22] [23], turpentine [24] and phenolic compounds [25].…”

Diterpene‐rich needle oil of Pinus pinaster Ait. from Corsica

“…Although the compositions of the individual samples varied substantially, it was not possible to distinguish several groups within these essential oils. For that reason, in Table 1 7 Concerning the sesquiterpene-rich oils, several samples contained fair amounts of (E)-β-caryophyllene and germacrene D, one or the other compound being the major one. These compositions afforded certain likeness with those of France (Landes forest) 11 and Greece.…”