Volatile Constituents from the Flowers of Nicotiana longiflora

ABSTRACT

The volatile constituents obtained by vacuum-steam distillation of flowers of Nicotiana longiflora were characterized by capillary GC and GC/MS. Twenty-nine compounds, comprising 75% of the GC profile of volatiles, were identified. The three major constituents were the labdane alcohol, manool; the acyclic diterpene, neophytadiene; and 2,4-diphenyl-4-methyl-2(Z)pentene. The volatile concentrate exhibited an aroma characteristic of green bell peppers, attributable to the presence of minor amounts of the potent aroma compound, 2-methoxy-3-isobutylpyrazine, previously unreported in Nicotiana species.

KEY WORD INDEX:

• Nicotiana longiflora
• solanaceae
• essential oil composition
• flower oil
• manool
• neophytadiene