Chemical composition of the volatile oil from the roots of Selinum tenuifolium Wall.

Abstract

The essential oil from the underground parts of Selinum tenuifolium Wall. (Apiaceae) was extracted by hydrodistillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus, and analyzed by GC/FID and GC/MS. Nine constituents, representing 97.7% of the total oil, were identified, five of which belong to the class of polyacetylenes. The structures of the compounds 1-5 were elucidated by using IR, MS, and 1H- and 13C-NMR data after purification by column chromatography. The major constituent detected was nona-3,5-diyne (1; 85.6% of the total volatiles), followed by nona-3,5-diyn-2-one (2), nona-4,6-diyn-3-one (3), nona-3,5-diyn-2-ol (4), and nona-4,6-diyn-3-ol (5), accounting for 3.0, 2.5, 2.2, and 3.1% of the total volatiles, respectively. The latter four polyacetylenes, 2-5, were never reported in plants so far, and, therefore should be regarded as novel compounds. Copyright © 2012 Verlag Helvetica Chimica Acta AG, Zürich, Switzerland.