Comparative Chemical Profiles of Essential Oil Constituents of Eight Wild Cinnamomum Species from the Western Ghats of India

Abstract

The volatile chemical profiles of 8 wild Cinnamomum species ( C. dubium Nees, C. litseifolium Thwaites, C. mohanense Gangapr. et al., C. palghatensis Gangop., C. riparium Gamble, C. travancoricum Gamble, C. walaiwarense Kosterm. and C. wightii Meissn.) and two chemotypes ( C. agasthyamalayanum Robi et al. and C. keralaense Kosterm.) from the Western Ghats, south India were reported for the first time. A total of 112 constituents belonging to monoterpenoid, sesquiterpenoid and phenyl propanoid classes were identified from the leaf essential oils by GC-FID and GC-MS analytical methods. Monoterpenoids and sesquiterpenoids were the major class of volatile compounds distributed in most of the Cinnamomum species studied. The study lead to the identification of natural sources of aroma compounds such as 1,8-cineole ( C. mohanense), 1,4-cineole ( C. wightii), safrole ( C. walaiwarense) and benzyl benzoate ( C. keralaense). Two new chemotypes of Cinnamomum species viz; C. agasthyamalayanum phellandrene-eugenol type and C. keralaense benzyl benzoate type were also discovered from the Western Ghats. The interrelationships between the studied species were discussed based on the volatile chemical profiles.