title: Chemical Characterization and Botanical Origin of French Ambers.
abstract: The molecular composition of 10 Cretaceous and one Eocene ambers from France was analyzed by infrared spectroscopy, solid-state (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and thermochemolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The terpenoids identified in the samples were used as biomarkers for the botanical origin of the resins. The Cretaceous samples, comprising the so-called Alpine, Anjou, Charentese, Provence, Pyrenean, and Vendean ambers, ranged from the Albian-Cenomanian transition to the early Santonian (100 to 85 Ma) and correspond to class Ib resins typical of conifers. The extinct conifer family Cheirolepidiaceae was proposed as the plant source of Pyrenean and brown Charentese ambers. Araucariaceae or Cheirolepidiaceae were the plant sources of the Cenomanian Alpine, Anjou, and yellow Charentese ambers. The Santonian ambers of Provence and Vendée were found to derive from the Cupressaceae. The Eocene Oise amber (ca. 53 Ma) is a class Ic resin typical of angiosperms and was produced by a Fabaceae. The evolution of resin sources from the early Cretaceous to the Eocene periods is discussed. Finally, a possible fingerprint hitherto unveiled is proposed for cheirolepidiaceous resins, defined by the simultaneous presence of phenolic diterpenoids, labdanoic acids, callitrisate structures, and their respective derivatives.
authors.affiliation: †CNRS UMR 6118 Géosciences and OSUR, Université de Rennes 1, Campus de Beaulieu Bâtiment 15, 263 Avenue du Général Leclerc, 35042 Rennes Cedex, France.|‡Doctoral School, PRASE Lebanese University, Campus Hadath-BP5, Beirut, Lebanon.|§Department of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Sciences II, Lebanese University, P.O. Box 26110217, Fanar-Matn, Lebanon.
authors.forename: Youssef A
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Nohra
authors.affiliation: †CNRS UMR 6118 Géosciences and OSUR, Université de Rennes 1, Campus de Beaulieu Bâtiment 15, 263 Avenue du Général Leclerc, 35042 Rennes Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Perrichot
authors.affiliation: †CNRS UMR 6118 Géosciences and OSUR, Université de Rennes 1, Campus de Beaulieu Bâtiment 15, 263 Avenue du Général Leclerc, 35042 Rennes Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jeanneau
authors.affiliation: ⊥Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes, CNRS UMR 6226, Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Rennes, 11 Allée de Beaulieu, 35708 Rennes Cedex 7, France.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Le Pollès
authors.affiliation: §Department of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Sciences II, Lebanese University, P.O. Box 26110217, Fanar-Matn, Lebanon.
authors.forename: Dany
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Azar
mesh_terms: D018647:Amber / Q000737:chemistry*; D003998:Dicarboxylic Acids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004224:Diterpenes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007887:Fabaceae / Q000737:chemistry; D005602:France; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010944:Plants / Q000737:chemistry; D013055:Spectrophotometry, Infrared; D013729:Terpenes / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D013764:Tetrahydronaphthalenes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D064028:Tracheophyta / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D018647:Amber; D003998:Dicarboxylic Acids; D004224:Diterpenes; D013729:Terpenes; D013764:Tetrahydronaphthalenes; C110795:agathic acid