The pinyon pines of Utah: Leaf essential oils of Pinus edulis and Pinus monophyla

Abstract

The pinyon pines, Pinus edulis (two-needle pinyon pine) and Pinus monophylla (single-leaf pinyon pine) are conspicuous trees in the pinyon-juniper woodlands of the Great Basin. The purpose of this study is to examine the volatile phytochemicals in the leaf essential oils of P. edulis and P. monophylla, including enantiomeric distribution of the chiral monoterpenoids. Leaves (needles) of P. edulis and P. monophylla were collected in Utah and the essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation. Gas chromatographic analysis revealed the major components to be α-pinene (13.1-36.5% and 27.8-29.0%, respectively), β-pinene (6.2-34.8% and 11.2-23.4%), β-phellandrene (9.5-20.2% and 11.9-14.7%), and α-terpineol (3.8-6.8% and 6.2-9.2%). Enantioselective gas chromatography showed (–)-β-pinene (> 95%), (–)-β-phellandrene (> 98%), and (–)-α-terpineol (53.6-93.0%) to be the dominant enantiomers while α-pinene showed some variability (39.5-88.9% (+)-α-pinene). The enantiomeric distributions of chiral terpenoids are presented for these essential oils for the first time and adds to our understanding of Pinus essential oils. However, additional research is needed to investigate the enantiomeric distributions of chiral terpenoids of Pinus essential oils more fully.