Identification of wood between Phoebe zhennan and Machilus pingii using the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry direct injection technique.

In this paper, the technique of direct injection gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) was employed to discriminate between two batches of wood (Phoebe zhennan and Machilus pingii) with characteristic smells. Based on the GC-MS fingerprints obtained, similarities between samples were evaluated via correlation coefficient, hierarchical clustering and characteristic constituents analysis. The results showed that distinct differences in total ion chromatograms existed between the two species of wood and their correlation coefficients were low; however, the relationship between the same species of different batches showed the opposite; meanwhile, the analysis of hierarchical clustering and characteristic constituents also demonstrated an interrelationship. All the analytical methods achieved the goal of identification between the two species of wood, which verified that the technique can be used to identify different species of wood with characteristic smells.