Long Term Degradation of Terpenes. From a 20 Million Years Old Taxodioxylon gypsaceum

Abstract

The comparison of the steam distillate from a 20 million years old Taxodioxylon gypsaceum with that of a corresponding 1.5 million years old sample has permitted the description of the last steps of terpene degradation of this species. The main feature is the reduced number of components in the older sample which contains over 97% of -phyllocladane and traces of other components present, by contrast, in the younger one. The lack of new compounds, related to the lost components, suggests leaching to be the cause of the losses. This seems to be confirmed by the analysis of the inner part of a trunk of one of the younger samples presently subjected to a sort of natural leaching. Analyses indicate an increase in -phyllocladane and a severe reduction in simoneliite as well as other terpenes, together with the formation of two new compounds of 164 and 222 MWs. The occurrence of -phyllocladane in other European lignites suggests the choice of this compound as a biomarker of the species Taxodioxylon gypsaceum.

Chemical composition and ultrastructure of a fossil wood from the genus of ancestral sequoia

“…Two other interesting components of old sequoia wood are: 1) a sesquiterpene (MW 206), certainly characterized by a tricyclic skeleton, which was already found in low amounts in fossils raxodioxylon gypsaceum from a Wackersdorf quarry (Menchi et al 1996; 2) a diterpene (MW 236) which according to available mass spectra seems to be based on an aromatic structure similar to abietane or phyllocladane families. Since an abietane structure should contain isolated double bonds in one of its phenanthrenic rings, a phyllocladane structure without any isolated double bonds is more probable.…”

Chemotaxonomical identification of Holocenic bogwood recovered after 2007 Niigataken Chuestsu-oki Earthquake

“…Therefore, in the present paper, an anatomical and chemical study was attempted in terms of one conifer bogwood piece obtained from the salvaged wood. The chemical analysis of volatile components may also give information on their diagenetic changes, based on previous studies (Simoneit et al 1986 ;Staccioli et al 1993Staccioli et al , 1997Staccioli et al , 1998Staccioli et al , 2000Menchi et al 1995 ;Otto and Simoneit 2002 ;Narita et al , 2007Narita and Kuga 2009 ). For comparison of anatomical and chemical features, several fresh pine samples were collected and analyzed.…”

General and Specific Biomarkers in some Tertiary Fossil Woods from Canadian Arctic

“…According to the degradation pathway, the same species could produce different final products in different environments. The Taxodioxylon gypsaceum species has, in fact, provided fossils characterised by a large variety of sesquiterpenes and diterpenes, further fossils containing only diterpenes, other fossils with only a diterpene such as alpha-phyllocladane (Staccioli et al 1993(Staccioli et al , 1994Menchi et al 1995).…”