Germacranolide Rich Essential Oil from Neolitsea pallens

Abstract

The composition of the steam volatile constituents of leaf, fruit and bark of Neolitsea pallens (D. Don) syn. Litsea umbrosa var. consimilis Nees Hook f. syn. L. consimilis Nees were analyzed by GC, GC-MS and NMR spectroscopy. The major constituents of the leaf oil were furanogermenone (30.6%), β-caryophyllene (19.3%) and germacrene D (12.7%), while oxygenated sesquiterpenoids (83.6%) constitute the major proportion of the bark oil, which is dominated by furanogermenone (59.1%), germacrone (9.3%), 10-epi-γ-eudesmol (7.8%) and curcumenol (5.3%). The fruit oil was mainly composed of furanogermenone (54.8%), trans-β-ocimene (8.8%), sabinene (6.4%) and germacrene D (4.0%). The major constituents were isolated and characterized on the basis of NMR spectroscopic data. The furano sesquiterpenoids, the major constituents of N. pallens, are of chemosystematic and commercial importance.