Foliar Essential Oil of White Fir (Abies concolor (Gordon) Lindl. ex Hildebr.): Chemical Composition and Enantiomeric Distribution

Abstract

Members of the Abies genus (Pinaceae) have been used in traditional medicines in their natural ranges, and essential oils derived from Abies species have found use in aromatic therapy. In this work, the foliar (leaves and twigs) essential oil of Abies concolor have been obtained from mature trees growing in southwestern Idaho and analyzed using gas chromatographic techniques. The essential oils were rich in α-pinene (15.2-20.5%), camphene (7.5-10.2%), β-pinene (24.2-25.6%), δ-3-carene (5.5-6.5%), limonene (5.4-6.9%), and bornyl acetate (14.6-22.1%). The dominant enantiomers for the major terpenoids were (+)-α-pinene, (–)-camphene, (–)-β-pinene, (+)-δ-3-carene, (–)-limonene, and (–)-bornyl acetate. The essential oil compositions are qualitatively similar to other Abies species, but the enantiomeric distributions for α-pinene, β-pinene, and camphene did reveal notable variation between Abies essential oils.