Diversity of Essential Oils and the Respective Hydrolates Obtained from Three Pinus cembra Populations in the Austrian Alps

Abstract

Pinus cembra, stone pine, is an Alpine coniferous tree rich in aromatic compounds. Twigs with needles are used commonly to produce essential oils for various purposes in pharmacy, food industry, and cosmetics. Hydrolates as byproducts of hydrodistillation encounter increasing interest owing to their aromatic properties. The variabilities in the compositions of essential oil and the related hydrolates are studied in samples from individual trees growing on three sites in the Austrian high mountain range. The essential oils have been obtained by steam distillation. All essential oils contained monoterpene hydrocarbons as main compounds, especially α-pinene (36–37%), β-phellandrene (27–30%), and β-pinene (7–9%). In contrast, the volatiles in the corresponding hydrolates were dominated by oxidized compounds as α-terpineol (28–34%), terpinen-4-ol (6–8%), and verbenone (6–7%). The pinene rich essential oils might be used in pharmacy as pinene containing oils from other Pinus species, while the hydrolates are of interest for cosmetics and other well-being promoting products.

Sage, Rosemary, and Bay Laurel Hydrodistillation By-Products as a Source of Bioactive Compounds

“…Sage hydrolates were shown to be rich in oxygenated monoterpenes: among 29 identified components, oxygenated monoterpenes were dominant, with camphor (30.95-34.88%) as the major compound, followed by 1,8-cineole (9.20-17.11%), α-thujone (6.57-16.48%), and borneol (9.60-14.68%), in line with previous reports [20,33,47]. Furthermore, in bay laurel hydrolates, among 17 components identified, the oxygenated monoterpene 1,8-cineole (34.43-46.90 %) was identified as the main compound, followed by camphor (1.36-13.08%) and α-terpineol (6.62-11.55%), similarly to previous data [34,49].…”

“…The volatile content of hydrolates is significantly lower, both in the number of compounds and in their concentration than in the respective essential oils, although it was shown that the concentration of some major, mostly oxygenated components can be higher in hydrolates [29][30][31][32]. Ratios of different groups of components differ between hydrolates and essential oils; for instance, the hydrolates contain a higher percentage of oxygenated monoterpenes and a lower percentage of monoterpene and sesquiterpenes hydrocarbons that are highly hydrophobic [33,34]. Hydrolates have applications in the food industry, the fragrant aroma industry, the cosmetic industry, and aromatherapy and represent the most commonly used by-product of essential oil production [20][21][22]35,36].…”

Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Artemisia argyi Essential Oil and Hydrolate

“…Similarly, an essential oil from Artemisia annua had 38.6% monoterpene and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, while the respective hydrolate was devoid of hydrocarbons [26]. In the same way, essential oils from Pinus cembra comprised approximately 95% mono-and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons and 5% their oxidized derivatives, while in the corresponding hydrolates volatiles, the ratio of hydrocarbons to oxidized compounds was around 5:95 reversed [27]. Rosemary essential oils having the pinenes, 1,8-cineole, camphor, borneol, and bornyl acetate as the main compounds were related to hydrolates with 1,8-cineole, camphor, borneol, terpinene-4-ol and α-terpineol in similar ratios as in the present A. argyi hydrolate volatiles [28].…”

Volatiles from French and Croatian Sea Fennel Ecotypes: Chemical Profiles and the Antioxidant, Antimicrobial and Antiageing Activity of Essential Oils and Hydrolates

“…Hydrolates are also becoming increasingly popular due to their pleasant organoleptic properties which is why they are widely used across different industries. Recent studies have reviewed the characteristics and potential applications of hydrolates in cosmetology and perfumery, aromatherapy, folk medicine and the food industry [ 1 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. In addition, hydrolates as by-products of EO isolation, which are usually treated as waste, are less harmful to human health compared to EOs and can, therefore, be used as natural and cheap raw materials with a wide range of applications in various industries [ 2 ].…”