pulegone and myrcene

Pycnanthemum incanum, a species of wild mountain mint endemic to North America, has a pungent mint-like odor that has not been fully characterized. Due in part to its high terpene content, P. incanum has broad potential for health-promoting, cosmetic, culinary, and food flavoring applications. Therefore, odorants of P. incanum were identified by coupling solvent assisted flavor evaporation (SAFE) and aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA), which afforded 24 odorants including 14 odorants with flavor dilution (FD) factors ≥4. Selected odorants, including those with FD factors ≥16, were quantitated by stable isotope dilution assays (SIDAs), and odor activity values (OAVs) were determined. The odorants with the highest OAVs included β-ionone (floral, violet; OAV 300), myrcene (terpeny, OAV 120), linalool (floral, citrus; OAV 79), and pulegone (mint, medicinal; OAV 58). An odor-simulation model based on the quantitation closely matched the sensory attributes of the original P. incanum plant material. In addition, enantiomeric proportions of chiral odorants in P. incanum were determined by chiral chromatography.

Topics: Acyclic Monoterpenes; Alkenes; Cyclohexane Monoterpenes; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Indicator Dilution Techniques; Lamiaceae; Monoterpenes; Norisoprenoids; Odorants; Plant Components, Aerial; Volatile Organic Compounds

The variation of the essential-oil composition among ten wild populations of Stachys lavandulifolia VAHL (Lamiaceae), collected from different geographical regions of Iran, was assessed by GC-FID and GC/MS analyses, and their intraspecific chemical variability was determined. Altogether, 49 compounds were identified in the oils, and a relatively high variation in their contents was found. The major compounds of the essential oils were myrcene (0.0-26.2%), limonene (0.0-24.5%), germacrene D (4.2-19.3%), bicyclogermacrene (1.6-18.0%), δ-cadinene (6.5-16.0%), pulegone (0.0-15.1%), (Z)-hex-3-enyl tiglate (0.0-15.1%), (E)-caryophyllene (0.0-12.9), α-zingiberene (0.2-12.2%), and spathulenol (1.6-11.1%). For the determination of the chemotypes and the chemical variability, the essential-oil components were subjected to cluster analysis (CA). The five different chemotypes characterized were Chemotype I (germacrene D/bicyclogermacrene), Chemotype II (germacrene D/spathulenol), Chemotype III (limonene/δ-cadinene), Chemotype IV (pulegone), and Chemotype V (α-zingiberene). The high chemical variation among the populations according to their geographical and bioclimatic distribution imposes that conservation strategies of populations should be made appropriately, taking into account these factors. The in situ and ex situ conservation strategies should concern all populations representing the different chemotypes.

Topics: Acyclic Monoterpenes; Alkenes; Cyclohexane Monoterpenes; Cyclohexenes; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Iran; Limonene; Monocyclic Sesquiterpenes; Monoterpenes; Oils, Volatile; Polycyclic Sesquiterpenes; Sesquiterpenes; Sesquiterpenes, Germacrane; Stachys; Terpenes