Essential oils of the twigs of some conifers grown in Greece

The composition of the essential oil from twigs of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), Black pine (P.nigra Arnold) and Fir (Abies Borisii - Regis (Abies alba x A. cephalonica) Mattfeld), grown in natural stands in Greece was investigated. The compounds were identified by GC/MS analysis. The Scots pine oil was found to be rich in alpha -pinene (19.44%), beta -pinene (17.27%), myrcene (14.00%) and beta -phellandrene (29.14%). The Black pine oil was also rich in alpha -pinene (10.38%), beta -pinene (15.45%), myrcene (3.99%), beta -caryophyllene (4.03%) and citronellol (14.97%), while the Fir oil was rich in alpha -pinene (3.30%), beta -pinene (2.57%), limonene (46.45%), junepene (2.55%) and caryophyllene oxide (7.05%). The mean twig oil yield on dry weight basis was 0.52%, 0.36% and 0.48% for Scots pine, Black pine and Fir respectively.