Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis of Alaska yellow-cedar extractive components.
| Authors: | Phoebe Wagner, Gabriel Epstein, Brett Hinkforth, Doreen Mann, Roderquita Moore |
| Year: | 2023 |
| Type: | Research Note |
| Station: | Forest Products Laboratory |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.2737/FPL-RN-422 |
| Source: | FPL-RN-422 |
Abstract
Alaska yellow-cedar (Cupressus nootkatensis) is a softwood tree species native to the Pacific coast of Canada and is known to contain various biologically active extractive components. Extractives are nonstructural chemical compounds found within wood that are primarily responsible for the durability of the tree itself and can, in some species, fend off attacks from microbes, insects, and other agents. Durability in wood often translates to biological activity in the human body, and some extractive compounds have already been identified as being biologically active. Extractives of Alaska yellow-cedar were separated using liquid–liquid fractionation and were identified using gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy (GC–MS). Vial B solvent mixture polarity separated 50% of the sample and had more compounds identified than the other fractions. The separated samples in vials F and G each had only one compound identified, and vial H had no compounds identified. Multiple compounds were identified in the other fractions that exhibit biological activity, such as carvacrol, nootkatone, α-cadinol, androsta-1,4,6-trien-3-one,17-hydroxy-(17β), and falcarinol. Further investigation on the vials with one or less compounds will be analyzed using instrumentation with more sensitivity and resolving power to identified trace compounds.