Essential oil composition of the turpentine tree ( Pistacia terebinthus L.) fruits growing wild in Turkey

Abstract

Constituents of essential oils from fruit samples of the turpentine tree ( Pistacia terebinthus L.) collected from fifteen different localities of Turkey on August 2001 were identified by GC–MS. Twenty-eight compounds representing 92.3–100.0% of turpentine fruit oils were identified. The oil yields varied between 0.06% and 0.16%. The highest yield of oil was obtained from fruits of Antalya origin (Akbaş-Serik) (0.16%). α-Pinene (51.3%), limonene (39.0%), p-cymen-8-ol (40.0%) and caryophyllene oxide (51.0%) were found as major components for different localities in Turkey. The predominant constituents in most samples were α-pinene (9.5–51.3%), limonene (tr-39.0%) and caryophyllene oxide (tr-51.5). Except for one collection (Manavgat-Antalya), which contained spathulenol (20.7%) and p-cymen-8-ol (40.0%), all the other samples yielded oils rich in α-pinene and limonene. β-Caryophyllene oxide is the most abundant compound in Hisarönü (İzmir), Alanya (Antalya) and Yayladağ (Hatay) oils. Results confirm the effect of locality on the oil content and composition.