Volatile leaf oil analysis in chemosystematic studies of North American conifers

The leaf oil terpene composition of incense cedar and coast redwood

“…The terpene pattern of incense cedar is unusual among North American conifers, having relatively large amounts of limonene, car-3-ene, a-pinene, myrcene, and a-terpinyl acetate and low amounts of P-pinene, P-phellandrene, and the camphene group of terpenes (8). The presence of small amounts of 3-methylenebicyclo[3.2.1 .…”

“…At least 8 trace components in the monoterpene range and 15 in the sesquiterpene range remain to be identified. The great diversity of sesquiterpenes contrasts strongly with their paucity in incense cedar leaf oil and is, together with the relatively large amounts of the terpinene isomers, terpinen-4-01, germacrene-D, and the elemol and eudesmol isomers, of chemosystematic value (8). Also, it is unusual in conifer leaf oils to find a-pinene as the main component, the only other North American species with this trait being the common juniper, Juniperus communis L. and yellow cedar (some trees only)…”

“…Whereas there is some similarity of the monoterpene hydrocarbon patterns with that of yellow cedar, the oxygenated monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes differ greatly (8,10). Gough and Mills (16) have found unusual diterpenes in the wood of incense cedar.…”

“…These were transported and stored in the cold and dark. The leaves were separated from the twigs and steam-distilled for 6 h (4,8,17,18). Whereas the recovery of volatile oil from coast redwood leaves was complete (0.4-0.7%, based on fresh weight), that of the incense cedar was incomplete and distillation was continued for a further 18 h (yield 0.6-0.9%).…”

Biology of Amber-Producing Trees: Focus on Case Studies of Hymenaea and Agathis

“…No resins are known to contain both di-and triterpenoids. Most chemosystematic (and écologie) studies of extant terpenoidproducing plants have utilized mono-and sesquiterpenoid fractions with a focus on the monoterpenoids in leaves, where easily identified and quantified by MS and GC (e.g., [5][6][7][8][9][10]. On the other hand, chemosystematic studies of amber have mainly focused on the non-volatile diterpenoid fractions, the majority of which have polymerized from the trunk resin of trees (although some volatile compounds that have not evaporated may be occluded in the resin).…”