Volatile Constituents of the Medicinal Fungus Chaga Inonotus obliquus (Pers.: Fr.) Pilat (Aphyllophoromycetideae)

The anamorph of the wood-rotting medicinal fungus Chaga Inonotus obliquus, which is used for several medicinal purposes and in the preparation of a refreshing tea, produces small amounts (less than 0.01%) of a complex mixture of volatiles. These compounds were analyzed for the first time by gas chromatograph(y) (GC) and GC/mass spectrometer coupling (GC/MS); 58 of them could be identified, representing 86% of the total hydrodistillate. The nonterpenoid compound group consisted mainly of oxygenated aliphatic substances (48%), with fatty acids dominating (38.6%). Their principal constituent was linolic acid (21.5%). Nearly all the terpenes analyzed belong to the sesquiterpene group. Altogether, 18 of them could be identified (representing 32.5% of the hydrodistillate), with beta-selinene (16.4%) as the dominating compound. Among these sesquiterpenes, cis- and trans-bergamotene, alpha-santalene, beta-sesquifenchene, epi-beta-santalene, photosantalol, and beta- and gamma- eudesmol are reported for the first time as volatile constituents of fungi.