Frankincense Revisited, Part II: Volatiles in Rare Boswellia Species and Hybrids

Abstract

In this second part of the investigation of volatiles and semivolatiles in Boswellia gum resins, an additional five less common species were analyzed by (SPME-)GC/MS, namely B. ameero, B. elongata, B. neglecta, B. popoviana, and B. rivae. Moreover, the results of hybridization experiments are reported in combination with the volatile composition of their gum resins. Our study shows that B. sacra benefits from an intraspecific cross-pollination, as the resulting hybrid B. sacra var. supersacra has a far higher seed germination rate and viability.

Pili Tree (Canarium ovatum) Resin's Antibacterial Essential Oil and Hydrosol as Rich Sources of (S)‐Phellandrenes Derivatives

“…Finally, the observation of toluene may be at first surprising, but the compound has been reported to be naturally secreted in living plants [15] and is especially observed in resiniferous plants‐derived essential oils such as incenses ( Boswellia sp. ), [16] balm of Judea ( Commiphora gileadensis ) [17] and Pinaceae (St‐Gelais, unpublished data).…”

Fragrant Sesquiterpene Ketones as Trace Constituents in Frankincense Volatile Oil of Boswellia sacra

“…Nagarmotha (Cypriol) volatile oil ( Cyperus scariosus , 30 mL, batch number: 160998, origin: India) was obtained from Essence Pur Ltd., Utting am Ammersee, Germany. Identity of the raw materials was confirmed by GC-MS; for frankincense, by comparison to an internal library of frankincense samples . In the case of the nagarmotha sample, a comparison to literature data − was inconclusive with regard to the exact identity, but characteristic substances of the genus Cyperus were detected and the presence of mustakone in the volatile oil could be established without doubt by a preparative isolation of the compound.…”

“…14 Biological Material. Boswellia sacra volatile oil (5 mL, batch number: 14806149, origin: Somalia, sample 72-Bcar in the study by Niebler et al 4 ) was obtained from Primavera Life GmbH, Oy-Mittelberg, Germany. Nagarmotha (Cypriol) volatile oil (Cyperus scariosus, 30 mL, batch number: 160998, origin: India) was obtained from Essence Pur Ltd., Utting am Ammersee, Germany.…”

“…A structural hypothesis based on a preliminary mass spectrum suggested that these compounds are oxygenated sesquiterpenoids. Although B. sacra frankincense is known to contain a large variety of sesquiterpenes, 3,4 this was the first evidence that oxygenated sesquiterpenes might be important contributors to the smell of frankincense. In the present study, semipreparative and analytical methods were used to enrich and isolate compounds 1 and 2 from the sesquiterpene fraction.…”

Seed Viability and Potential Germination Rate of Nine Endemic Boswellia Taxa (Burseraceae) from Socotra Island (Yemen)

“…Adam and Osman [ 35 ] proved the ability of Boswellia papyrifera stumps to create sprouts in high percentages which allow tree regeneration by coppicing. Propagation by cuttings with a high percentage of rooting was reported by Abiyu et al [ 36 ] and Haile et al [ 37 ], which may help overcome the population recruitment bottleneck of the Boswellia species [ 37 ] if properly managed and assisted to enhance the genetic diversity, including the directed propagation of hybrids and hybridogenic species that appear very often on Socotra [ 15 , 38 , 39 ] due to common occurrence of ten different species’ distinct characteristics.…”