Volatile Oil Profile of Prickly Ash (Zanthoxylum) Pericarps from Different Locations in China.

Yao Ma,Yabing Chen,Jieyun Tian,Ming Chen,Yulin Liu,Anzhi Wei

doi:10.3390/foods10102386

Yao Ma, Yabing Chen + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10102386

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Abstract

Volatile oils of prickly ash (Zanthoxylum) pericarps have various potential biological functions with considerable relevance to food, pharmacological, and industrial applications. The volatile profile of oils extracted from prickly ash pericarps obtained from 72 plantations in China was determined by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. Several chemometric analyses were used to better understand the volatile oil profile differences among different pericarps and to determine the key factors that affected geographical variations in the main volatile constituents of oils. A total of 47 constituents were detected with D-limonene, alfa-myrcene, and linalool as the most abundant. The volatile profile of pericarp oils was significantly affected by prickly ash species and some environmental factors, and the key factors that affected volatile profile variations for different prickly ash species were diverse. Chemometric analyses based on the volatile oil profile could properly distinguish Z. armatum pericarps from other pericarps. This study provides comprehensive information on the volatile oil profile of pericarps from different prickly ash species and different plantations, and it can be beneficial to a system for evaluating of pericarp quality. Moreover, this study speculates on the key environmental factors that cause volatile oil variations for each species, and can help to obtain better prickly ash pericarp volatile oils by improving the cultivated environments.

Highlights

Ash (Zanthoxylum) comprises approximately 250 known species of perennial trees and shrubs [1], and the trees of these species are distributed across a wide range of regions due to their high resistance to adverse climate and soil conditions and huge economic gains [2]
The oil constituents were identified by comparing their mass spectra fragmentation with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and by comparing the retention index (RI) with the results reported in the literature
The volatile oil profile of prickly ash pericarps was affected by the species of the plant and some environmental factors, and the key environmental factors that affected volatile profiling variations for different prickly ash species were diverse

Summary

Introduction

Ash (Zanthoxylum) comprises approximately 250 known species of perennial trees and shrubs [1], and the trees of these species are distributed across a wide range of regions due to their high resistance to adverse climate and soil conditions and huge economic gains [2]. Because of the difference in tree species, climate, soil conditions, and management measures, prickly ash pericarps vary in morphology and active constituents resulting in differences in quality, price, and therapeutic efficacy [3,4,5]. Dry ZB pericarps, named Pericarpium Zanthoxyli (‘Huajiao’), are listed in the Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China as an important medicine to treat diseases [8]. The plants of this species are classified into two groups: the first group (Z. bungeanum 1, ZB1) is represented by samples from Hancheng and the second group (Z. bungeanum 2, ZB2) is represented by samples from Fengxian [9,10]. The therapeutic efficacy of the two popular species is mainly because of the presence of volatile

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