Comparison of volatile components of semen cassiae and semen seeds tea

Abstract

In the present study, the extraction of volatile oils from semen cassiae and semen seeds tea of China has been made by steam distillation; the volatile components were studied and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 37 components in volatile oil from semen cassiae and 32 components in volatile oil from semen seeds tea were identified. The major components of the volatile oil from semen cassiae were 9-octadecenoic acid, (E)- (22.15%), n-hexadecanoic acid (12.53%), 9,10-anthracenedione, 1,8-dihydroxy-3-methyl-(7.66%), octadecanoic acid (4.56%), 13-octadecenoic acid, methyl ester, (Z)- (3.84%). Nevertheless, the major components of volatile oil from semen seeds tea were bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (6.06%), nonacosane (4.48%), tetrapentacontane (4.35%), 1,54-dibromo-tetratetracontane (4.19%), octadecane, 3-ethyl-5-(2-ethylbutyl)- (3.68%), hexacosane (3.64%), 3,9-epoxypregnane-11,14,18-triol-20-one, 16-cyano-3-methoxy-, 11-acetate(3.11%), and dotriacontane (3.06%). The components and contents of volatile oil extracted from semen cassiae and semen seeds tea are obviously different, which suggests that comparison of chemical components of two volatile oils is helpful in elucidating the pharmacological activities, processing methods and processing mechanism in semen cassiae and control its processing quality. Key words: Semen cassiae, semen seeds tea, volatile oil, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.