Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Characterization of Resins from the Family Pinaceae

Abstract

Proton magnetic resonance spectra were recorded for solutions of resinous materials harvested from 82 species in seven genera of the gymnospermous plant family Pinaceae. Data were recorded in both one and two (COSY) dimensions. Approximately 11 peaks in the 1D spectra and 10 cross-peaks in the 2D spectra were present in almost all pinacean spectra, providing a familial diagnostic. Some 40 1D peaks or peak clusters and 60 2D cross-peaks or clusters were considered significant and are reported, when present, for all species. Whereas previous solid-state 13C data were diagnostic primarily at the family level, the patterns of 1D and 2D peaks may provide diagnostic information at the genus and species levels. These spectra constitute the first broad use of 1H NMR to study plant exudates in general and to provide taxonomic characterization in particular.