Diversity of Essential Oils and the Respective Hydrolates Obtained from Three Pinus cembra Populations in the Austrian Alps

Pinus cembra, stone pine, is an Alpine coniferous tree rich in aromatic compounds. Twigs with needles are used commonly to produce essential oils for various purposes in pharmacy, food industry, and cosmetics. Hydrolates as byproducts of hydrodistillation encounter increasing interest owing to their aromatic properties. The variabilities in the compositions of essential oil and the related hydrolates are studied in samples from individual trees growing on three sites in the Austrian high mountain range. The essential oils have been obtained by steam distillation. All essential oils contained monoterpene hydrocarbons as main compounds, especially alpha-pinene (36-37%), beta-phellandrene (27-30%), and beta-pinene (7-9%). In contrast, the volatiles in the corresponding hydrolates were dominated by oxidized compounds as alpha-terpineol (28-34%), terpinen-4-ol (6-8%), and verbenone (6-7%). The pinene rich essential oils might be used in pharmacy as pinene containing oils from other Pinus species, while the hydrolates are of interest for cosmetics and other well-being promoting products.

Automated summary

Pinus cembra, or stone pine, is an Alpine coniferous tree rich in aromatic compounds. The essential oils extracted from its twigs are commonly used in pharmacy, food industry, and cosmetics. Variabilities in compositions of essential oil and related hydrolates from individual trees in the Austrian high mountain range have been studied, with essential oils containing mainly monoterpene hydrocarbons and hydrolates dominated by oxidized compounds.