Abstract
Pterocarpus santalinus and Pterocarpus tincorius are commonly used traded timber species of the genus Pterocarpus. P. santalinus has been listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). As a non-CITES species, P. tincorius is also indiscriminately labeled as P. santalinus due to the similar macroscopic and microscopic features with P. santalinus. In order to understand the molecular discrimination between these easily confused species, xylarium heartwoods of these two species were extracted by three different kinds of solvents and analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Multivariate analyses were also applied for the selection of marker compounds that are distinctive between P. santalinus and P. tincorius. A total of twenty volatile compounds were detected and tentatively identified in three kinds of extracts, and these compounds included alcohols, stilbenoids, esters, aromatic hydrocarbons, ketones, miscellaneous, phenols, and flavonoids. GC-MS analyses also revealed that extraction solvents including ethanol and water (EW), ethyl acetate (EA), and benzene–ethanol (BE) gave the best chemotaxonomical discrimination in the chemical components and relative contents of the two Pterocarpus species. After chemometric analyses, EW displayed higher predictive accuracy (100%) than those of EA extract (83.33%) and BE extract (83.33%). Furthermore, spathulenol (17.58 min) and pterostilbene (23.65 min) were elucidated as the critical compounds for the separation of the EW extracts of P. santalinus and P. tinctorius. Thus, a protocol of GC-MS and multivariate analyses was developed to use for successfully distinguishing P. santalinus from P. tinctorius.
Highlights
Illegal logging seriously affects the global forest resources, causing forest destruction, the loss of biodiversity, climate change, and environmental deterioration [1,2]
Extraction of P. santalinus and P. tinctorius samples was conducted under three different solvent systems: ethanol and water (EW), ethyl acetate (EA), and BE, respectively
A greater number of peaks are observed in the total ion chromatograms (TICS) curves the heartwood extracts of P. santalinus than in those of P. tinctorius
Summary
Illegal logging seriously affects the global forest resources, causing forest destruction, the loss of biodiversity, climate change, and environmental deterioration [1,2]. The seizing of illegal wood products and the prosecuting of illegal logging crimes are of importance for the restriction of both illegal logging and associated trade [3]. Being able to identify timber to a level of certainty acceptable for admission to a court of law plays a critical role in the law enforcement for the forest protection [4]. The timber of Pterocarpus is well-known and highly valued due to its beautiful appearance, wood properties, medicinal properties, and even valuable bioactive compounds [6]. The high value has led to an increase in illegal logging of Pterocarpus, which results in a threat to wild
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