title: Composition and seasonal variation of the essential oil from Abies sachalinensis from Hokkaido, Japan.
abstract: The composition of the steam-distilled essential oil from the leaves of Abies sachalinensis (F. Schmidt) Mast. cultivated in Hokkaido (Japan) was studied by GC-MS. The seasonal variation in the main volatile constituents was also investigated. Analysis of the essential oil resulted in the identification of 21 compounds with monoterpenes comprising 99.9% of the total. alpha-Pinene was the most abundant compound, followed by camphene, bornyl acetate, limonene, beta-pinene and beta-phellandrene. The sesquiterpene content was low, and was mainly represented by beta-caryophyllene, beta-caryophyllene, and gamma-selinene. The essential oil from the leaves, collected at eight different collection periods over more than 5 years, showed significant differences in composition. Alpha-Pinene was the predominant constituent during the collection periods, with a few exceptions. The alpha-pinene content of the oil was abundant in April-June, and decreased in November-December. Levels of bornyl acetate showed the greatest increase in December, when the temperature was very low. The enantiomeric distribution of alpha-pinene was suggested to relate to seasonal transformation. (+)-alpha-Pinene showed a tendency to increase when total precipitation, average temperature, and total duration of sunshine were high.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toho University, Miyama 2-2-1, Funabashi, Chiba 274-8510, Japan. satou@phar.toho-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Tadaaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Satou
authors.forename: Mariko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matsuura
authors.forename: Shio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Murakami
authors.forename: Shinichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Koike
mesh_terms: D028202:Abies / Q000737:chemistry*; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000737:chemistry*; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000737:chemistry*; D012621:Seasons
chemical_list: D009822:Oils, Volatile; D010938:Plant Oils