Molecules 2012, 17(6), 7057-7066; doi:10.3390/molecules17067057
Article

Chemical Composition of Essential Oils of Litsea cubeba Harvested from Its Distribution Areas in China

Linlin Si 1,2,3 , Yicun Chen 1,2 , Xiaojiao Han 1,2 , Zhiyong Zhan 1,2 , Shengping Tian 1,2 , Qinqin Cui 1,2  and Yangdong Wang 1,2,* email
1 State key Laboratory of Forest Genetic and Tree Breeding, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China 2 Institute of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Fuyang 311400, China 3 College of Life Science, Anhui Agriculture University, Hefei 230036, China
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 19 April 2012; in revised form: 31 May 2012 / Accepted: 5 June 2012 / Published: 8 June 2012
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Abstract: Litsea cubeba (Lour.) Pers. is a promising industrial crop with fruits rich in essential oils. The chemical composition of essential oils of L. cubeba (EOLC) were determined for fruits harvested from eight regions in China. The overall essential oil content, obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS), ranged from 3.04% to 4.56%. In total, 59 compounds were identified, the dominant components being monoterpenes (94.4–98.4%), represented mainly by neral and geranial (78.7–87.4%). D-Limonene was unexpectedly a lesser constituent (0.7–5.3%) in fruits, which differed from previous reports (6.0–14.6%). Several components were only detected in certain regions and compounds such as o-cymene and eremophilene have never before been reported in EOLC. These results demonstrate significant regional variation in the chemical composition of EOLC. This investigation provides important information with regard to the bioactivity, breeding work and industrial applications of L. cubeba.
Keywords: Litsea cubeba; essential oil; citral; D-limonene; varieties

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MDPI and ACS Style

Si, L.; Chen, Y.; Han, X.; Zhan, Z.; Tian, S.; Cui, Q.; Wang, Y. Chemical Composition of Essential Oils of Litsea cubeba Harvested from Its Distribution Areas in China. Molecules 2012, 17, 7057-7066.

AMA Style

Si L, Chen Y, Han X, Zhan Z, Tian S, Cui Q, Wang Y. Chemical Composition of Essential Oils of Litsea cubeba Harvested from Its Distribution Areas in China. Molecules. 2012; 17(6):7057-7066.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Si, Linlin; Chen, Yicun; Han, Xiaojiao; Zhan, Zhiyong; Tian, Shengping; Cui, Qinqin; Wang, Yangdong. 2012. "Chemical Composition of Essential Oils of Litsea cubeba Harvested from Its Distribution Areas in China." Molecules 17, no. 6: 7057-7066.

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