Influence of Harvesting Time on Chemical Composition of the Essential Oil of Abies Koreana Twigs

Abstract

Objective: In the present study, the influence of harvesting time (April, June, August and October 2015) on the essential oil composition of Abies koreana twigs from Korea was investigated. Methods:The essential oil from the twigs of A. koreana was isolated by steam distillation and its chemical composition was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Results:The essential oil yield was found to vary from 0.76 to 1.20% depending on the month of harvesting. The GC-MS analysis revealed the identification of 26 different essential oil components from the twigs harvested in the months of April, June, August and October, which were mostly monoterpene hydrocarbons (57.63-72.38%) followed by oxygenated monoterpenes (18.82-25.96%). Harvesting time mainly influenced on the concentration of the major components of the essential oil from the twigs of A. koreana. Limonene (17.38-31.13%), bornyl acetate (13.22-21.17%), camphene (12.56-13.26%), α-pinene (11.05-13.02%), β-pinene (4.55-5.70%), 3-carene (5.21-6.43%) and β-eudesmol (1.49-8.24%) were detected as the major components in the essential oil. Conclusion:The main differences between the essential oil compositions of four different months can be referred to limonene and bornyl acetate. The results showed considerable variations in the composition of essential oil, particularly quantitative variation during different harvesting months.