Pattern of parenchyma and canal resin composition in softwoods and hardwoods

There is a general pattern of resin chemistry for parenchyma cells and secretory tissue. In sapwood the parenchyma resin is composed of fats, steryl esters, and occasionally waxes. Secretory tissue (most often resin canals) contains terpenes, terpenoids, and polyisoprenes. Other types of canal resin occur in a few hardwood families. The pattern is valid for softwoods and hardwoods. It has been defined from a comparison of available information on wood chemistry, wood anatomy, and the chemistry of oleoresin exudates from trees. This is a short overview with the most important references of two detailed reports.     

马尾松针叶中挥发性成分的鉴定及其对马尾松毛虫的触角电位反应

马尾松Ｐｉｎｕｓ ｍａｓｓｏｎｉａｎａ针叶的挥发物由溶剂提取和真空蒸馏制得。用气相色谱和气相色谱－质谱，由挥发物中鉴定出了２０种成分。它们主要是单萜烯、单萜烯醇、单萜烯乙酸酯和倍半萜烯。用正常和剪除触角的雌蛾研究针叶挥发物在马尾松毛虫Ｄｅｎｄｒｏｌｉｍｕｓ ｐｕｎｃｔｕｔａｓ产卵场所选择中的作用。试验表明正常雌蛾在针叶上的产卵量要比剪除触角的高得多。触角电位（ＥＡＧ）研究表明无论是交配的还是未交配     

Essential oils content and antioxidant properties of peel ethanol extract in 18 lemon cultivars

Composition of essential oils and antioxidant activity of peel ethanol extract were analyzed in 18 local lemon cultivars. Essential oils composition was determined by GC/FID analysis, and antioxidant activity with the ABTS method. Fruit weight, polar and equatorial diameters, peel thickness, seed number, juice percentage, titratable acidity and juice pH were also determined for each cultivar. The main component in the peel essential oil was limonene, accounting for 72.5–76.4%, followed by β-pinene (11.6–18.7%). Several other monoterpene hydrocarbons were also identified at appreciable contents, namely terpinene (2.88–8.26%), α-pinene (1.4–1.5%) and myrcene (0.95–1.12%). No clear relationship could be shown between the antioxidant activity and the essential oil composition of the extracts. In this study, cultivars with higher essential oil content and antioxidant activity were identified. Data were subjected to analysis of variance using ANOVA and means were compared by the Duncan test.     

Acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibition of ethanolic extract and monoterpenes from Pimpinella anisoides V Brig. (Apiaceae)

Ethanolic extract from the fruits of Pimpinella anisoides, an aromatic plant and a spice, exhibited activity against AChE and BChE, with IC₅₀ values of 227.5 and 362.1 μg/ml, respectively. The most abundant constituents of the extract were trans-anethole, (+)-limonene and (+)-sabinene. trans-Anethole exhibited the highest activity against AChE and BChE with IC₅₀ values of 134.7 and 209.6 μg/ml, respectively. The bicyclic monoterpene (+)-sabinene exhibited a promising activity against AChE (IC₅₀ of 176.5 μg/ml) and BChE (IC₅₀ of 218.6 μg/ml).     

辐射松与杉木在高温干燥中萜烯类释放浓度研究

以40 mm厚的辐射松(Pinus radiata)和人工林杉木(Cunninghamia lanceolat)锯材为对象,研究高温干燥过程中干燥温度和锯材含水率对萜烯类产物释放浓度的影响,并与辐射松常规干燥中的萜烯类释放浓度作比较。高温和常规干燥过程中采抽气样次数均为5次,抽气速度为1.0 L/min,采样时间为30 min,采用Tenax管收集干燥过程中萜烯类产物,用气相色谱仪分析其成分及浓度。结果表明:高温干燥辐射松萜烯类释放浓度高于常规干燥辐射松与高温干燥人工林杉木,但萜烯类挥发物的组分有所差别。常规干燥辐射松锯材萜烯类释放浓度对环境是安全的,然而在高温干燥过程中,尤其在干燥中后期,当萜烯类挥发物浓度大于1.5 mg/m3时,对辐射松和人工林杉木释放萜烯类挥发物应采取回收措施,以确保对环境的安全。     

Ungulate herbivory of regenerating conifers in relation to foliar nutrition and terpenoid production

Ungulate browsing greatly influences regeneration dynamics of some forest ecosystems, yet the relationship between browse susceptibility and foliar chemistry of forest tree seedlings is not well understood. We applied field fertilization (15N-9P-10K controlled-release fertilizer at 0, 20, 40, and 60 g per seedling) and investigated how subsequent changes in terpenoid production and foliar nutrition influence ungulate browse preference for Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco), western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla Raf. Sarg.), and western redcedar (Thujaplicata Donn ex D. Don) seedlings across four sites in northwestern Oregon, USA. Fertilization increased foliar N concentration of all three species, but above-ground growth of only Douglas-fir and western hemlock. Foliar monoterpene concentrations for western hemlock and western redcedar also increased at higher fertilization rates, while Douglas-fir monoterpene production was not affected by fertilization. Regardless of monoterpene levels, ungulate browse preference was greater for fertilized western hemlock seedlings. The opposite response, however, was observed for western redcedar at two of the four study sites where the likelihood of browse was greater for non-fertilized than fertilized seedlings. Differences in browse preference among species may depend on the type and amount of individual monoterpenes manufactured in response to fertilization. Western redcedar produce α- and β-thujone, oxygenated monoterpenes known to promote gastroenteritis and possibly inhibit microbial rumen activity, which were absent from Douglas-fir or western hemlock. Higher concentrations of α- and β-thujone associated with increasing fertilizer rate provide a plausible explanation as to why ungulates preferred non-fertilized western redcedar. Our results illustrate species-specific adaptation in browse avoidance and selective ungulate browsing behavior of individual trees as linked to foliar chemistry.     

Composition of neutral fractions in Chinese raw tall oil

Chinese tall oil samples, obtained from pulp and papermaking factories in Qinzhou and Jiamusi of China, were first divided into acidic and neutral fractions by saponification, extraction, and distillation. The obtained neutral fractions were then analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) after silylation with bis-(trimethylsilyl) trifluoroacetamide. The results obtained show that 10 types of compound (monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, diterpenes, triterpenes, resin alcohols, resin aldehydes, steroids, fatty alcohols, phenols, stilbenes) exist in the neutral fractions of Chinese raw tall oil. In the neutral fractions from Qinzhou, 55 components were identified, 35 of which were found for the first time in Chinese raw tall oil; 12 components were discovered for the first time in raw tall oil. In the neutral fraction from Jiamusi, 45 components were identified, 9 of which were discovered for the first time in Chinese raw tall oil.     

The role of the monoterpene composition inPinus spp. needles, in host selection by the pine processionary caterpillar,Thaumetopoea pityocampa

This paper presents preliminary results on attempts to extract and characterize the volatile secondary metabolites contained in needles of differentPinus species and to ascertain the role played by these substances on the behavior ofThaumetopoea pityocampa (Denis et Schiffermüller) females, which show a marked preference, during the oviposition period, for some indigenous and exotic species of host plants existing in mixed formation. Limonene is the most abundant monoterpene extracted fromP. pinea needles, the least favored species of pine processionary caterpillar (PPC) females, although it is present in only very low amounts in otherPinus species. An increase was observed in limonene production byP. pinea at the start of the flight period of the PPC adult, and subsequently at the beginning of the females’ oviposition period. Assays carried out in two pine stands in central Italy showed that limonene, emulsified with water and sprayed on foliage of four different pine species plants,P. sylvestris, P. nigra, P. pinaster andP. radiata, during the PPC oviposition period, provided a satisfactory degree of protection. In fact, the number of egg clusters collected from treated plants was often lower than the number of egg clusters collected from control plants and was comparable to the number of egg clusters laid onP. pinea plants. In particular (R)-(+)-limonene, although not produced in nature by pines, was the most effective deterrent. However, the effect of (S)-(-)-limonene, the enantiomer biosynthesized by pines, was also adequate.     

Chemical composition,antimicrobial, modulator and antioxidant activity of essential oil of Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin & Clemants

The oil presented the α-Terpinene as the major compound with 54.09% presence. Antibacterial activity demonstrated significant MIC against Staphylococcus aureus (256 μg/mL) and moderate against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (512 μg/mL). The modulating effect of antibiotics was significant against P. aeruginosa potentiating the effect of all the antibiotics tested. The IC₅₀ observed for CT LM 23 was clinically relevant (19.3 μg/mL), similar to that obtained for CA INCQS 40006 (25.2 μg/mL). The combined effect with fluconazole also showed significant results, 0.1 and 22.7 μg/mL, for CT LM 23 and CA INCQS 40006, respectively. For CA LM 77 the IC₅₀ was 101.9 μg/mL and for CT INCQS 40042 a value of 53.3 μg/mL. Regarding the modulation, both were considered of clinical relevance, 3.3 and 6.4 μg/mL. OEDA has low antioxidant activity (>1024 μg/mL). Therefore, the popular use against infections was corroborated by this work.     

Phenolic compounds and terpenes in soil organic horizon layers under silver birch,Norway spruce and Scots pine

The aim of this study was to monitor the concentration of some plant secondary metabolites, such as low- and high-molecular-weight phenolics, condensed tannins (proanthocyanidins), and sesqui-, di- and triterpenes, in litter (L), fermentation (F) and humified (H) layers of the soil organic horizon in stands dominated by silver birch (Betula pendula Roth.), Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), and from samples taken from birch leaves and spruce and pine needles. Concentrations of low- and high-molecular-weight phenolics and terpenes from the four most dominant species of ground vegetation taken from the stands were also determined. In general, the L layer showed higher concentrations of both phenolic compounds and terpenes than the F and H layers did. Concentrations of terpenes decreased relatively more with soil depth than did concentrations of total phenolics (=low + high) or condensed tannins. Of the total phenolics, the proportion of low-molecular-weight phenolics increased from the L to the H layer with all tree species. Concentrations of all terpenes were highest under pine and lowest under birch. Concentrations of the studied secondary metabolites in the ground vegetation species were similar under different tree species. Blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) and lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) contained considerably higher concentrations of total phenolics than did feather moss (Pleurozium schreberi (Brid.) Mitt.) and wavy hair-grass (Deschampsia flexuosa (L.) Trin.). Concentration of total phenolics in soil correlated positively with soil respiration and microbial biomass C, and terpenes showed positive correlation with soil C-to-N ratio.