title: A method of detecting carbonyl compounds in tree leaves in China.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Carbonyl compounds have been paid more and more attention because some carbonyl species have been proven to be carcinogenic or a risk for human health. Plant leaves are both an important emission source and an important sink of carbonyl compounds. But the research on carbonyl compounds from plant leaves is very scarce. In order to make an approach to the emission mechanism of plant leaves, a new method was established to extract carbonyl compounds from fresh plant leaves.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The procedure combining derivatization with ultrasonication was developed for the fast extraction of carbonyl compounds from tree leaves. Fresh leaves (< 0.01 g) were minced and ultrasonicated in acidic 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH)-acetonitrile solution for 30 min and then holding 30 min to allow aldehydes and ketones in leaves to react completely with DNPH.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The extraction process was performed under room temperature and only took 60 min. The advantages of this method were very little sample preparation, requiring short treatment time and usual equipment. Four greening trees, i.e., camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora), sweet olive (Osmanthus fragrans), cedar (Cedrus deodara), and dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides), were selected and extracted by this method. Seven carbonyl compounds, including formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone, acrolein, p-tolualdehyde, m/o-tolualdehyde, and hexaldehyde were determined and quantified. The most common carbonyl species of the four tree leaves were formaldehyde, acrolein, and m/o-tolualdehyde. They accounted for 67.3% in cedar, 50.8% in sweet olive, 45.8% in dawn redwood, and 44.6% in camphor tree, respectively. Camphor tree had the highest leaf level of m/o-tolualdehyde with 15.0 +/- 3.4 microg g(-1)(fresh leaf weight), which indicated that camphor tree may be a bioindicator of the level of tolualdehyde or xylene in the atmosphere. By analyzing carbonyl compounds from different tree leaves, it is not only helpful for further studying the relationship between sink and emission of carbonyls from plants, but also helpful for exploring optimum plant population in urban greening.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Pollution and Health, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, 200444, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Yanli
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Jiamo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Guoying
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sheng
mesh_terms: D000079:Acetaldehyde; D000096:Acetone; D000097:Acetonitriles / Q000737:chemistry; D000171:Acrolein / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D000447:Aldehydes / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D028203:Cedrus / Q000737:chemistry; D005591:Chemical Fractionation / Q000379:methods*; D002681:China; D027423:Cinnamomum camphora / Q000737:chemistry; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity; D005557:Formaldehyde; D031658:Olea / Q000737:chemistry; D010659:Phenylhydrazines / Q000737:chemistry; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D032487:Sequoia / Q000737:chemistry; D013010:Sonication; D013997:Time Factors; D014197:Trees / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D014465:Ultrasonics
chemical_list: D000097:Acetonitriles; D000447:Aldehydes; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D010659:Phenylhydrazines; D010936:Plant Extracts; D000096:Acetone; D005557:Formaldehyde; C004787:2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine; D000171:Acrolein; D000079:Acetaldehyde; C032159:acetonitrile