Chemical composition of volatile oils of Aquilaria malaccensis (Thymelaeaceae) from Malaysia.

Volatile oils of Aquilaria malaccensis Benth. (Thymelaeaceae) from Malaysia were obtained by hydrodistillation and subjected to detailed GC-FID and GC/MS analyses to determine possible similarities and differences in their chemical composition in comparison with the commercial oil. A total of thirty-one compounds were identified compared with twenty-nine identified in the commercial oil. The major compounds identified were 4-phenyl-2-butanone (32.1%), jinkoh-eremol (6.5%) and alpha-guaiene (5.8%), while the major compounds in the commercial oil were alpha-guaiene (10.3%), caryophellene oxide (8.6%), and eudesmol (3.2%). The results of the present study showed that more than nine sesquiterpene hydrocarbons were present, which is more than previously reported. Analysis also showed that the number of oxygenated sesquiterpenes in this study were much less than previously reported. Among the compounds detected were alpha-guaiene, beta-agarofuran, alpha-bulnesene, jinkoh-eremol, kusunol, selina-3,11-dien-9-one, oxo-agarospirol and guaia-1 (10), 11-dien-15,2-olide.