Volatile compounds of the green alga, Capsosiphon fulvescens

Essential oils extracted by static vacuum simultaneous distillation-extraction (V-SDE) and conventional SDE from a green alga, Capsosiphon fulvescens, were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and GC-mass spectrometry. The essential oil extracted with V-SDE and SDE has totals of 151 and 140 compounds, respectively. A combined total of 208 compounds were identified and 81 volatiles were common in both extracts. These included 8 acids, 28 alcohols, 34 aldehydes, 11 esters, 25 ketones, 19 aliphatic hydrocarbons, 43 branched hydrocarbons, 6 unsaturated hydrocarbons, 19 cyclic hydrocarbons, and 15 miscellaneous. The major volatile compounds of the oil extracted with V-SDE were (E)-beta-ionone, octane, (E,E)-2,4-heptadienal, hexadecanoic acid, and beta-cyclocitral, while those extracted with SDE were hexadecanoic acid, (Z,Z)-1,5-octadien-3-ol, tetradecanoic acid, (E,E)-2,4-heptadienal, and benzaldehyde. The characteristics of the flavor of the green alga might be contributed by the presence of a large number of aldehydes and ketones. Many of the compounds extracted with SDE might originate from thermal degradation and/or thermal interactions among the constituents in the alga during steam distillation.