Analysis of fragrance compositions of precious coniferous woods grown in Taiwan

Abstract

Abstract Odor is one of the most distinctive characteristics of wood. Woods in the family Taxodiaceae and Cupressaceae often emit fragrant odors. In this study, the fragrance compounds of six coniferous woods grown in Taiwan, namely Chamaecyparis formosensis, Chamaecyparis obtusa var. formosana, Calocedrus macrolepis var. formosana, Taiwania cryptomerioides, Cunninghamia lanceolata, and Cryptomeria japonica, were studied by solid-phase microextraction and GC/MS. A non-biased overall profile of the fragrance compositions of the woods was obtained. The major aroma compounds were: β-elemene (15.8%), γ-cadinene (12.1%), α-pinene (11.1%), and limonene (10.8%) in C. obtusa; myrtenol (27.0%), myrtenyl (19.2%), and γ-cadinene (11.4%) in C. formosensis; β-cedrene (22.3%), δ-cadinene (17.6%), and widdrene (11.4%) in T. cryptomerioides; β-cedrene (26.2%) α-pinene (19.7%) and limonene (13.2%) in C. lanceolata; 3-carene (21.0%), p-cymene (11.0%), and limonene (9.5%) in C. japonica; and p-cymene (24.4%), terpinen-4-ol (16.6%), and α-terpineol (12.5%) in C. macrolepis. The results may provide useful information for future studies on chemotaxonomy and metabolomics of conifers.