Identification and quantitative determination of lignans in Cedrus atlantica resins using 13C NMR spectroscopy

Identification and quantitative determination of individual components of resin collected on the trunk of 28 Cedrus atlantica trees, grown in Corsica, has been carried out using 13C NMR spectroscopy. Eight resin acids bearing either the pimarane or abietane skeleton, two monoterpene hydrocarbons and four oxygenated neutral diterpenes have been identified, as well as three lignans, scarcely found in resins. Three groups could be distinguished within the 28 resin samples. The nine samples of Group I had their composition dominated by diterpene acids (33.7-45.8%), with abietic acid (6.2-18.7%) and isopimaric acid (5.1-12.6%) being the major components. The four samples of Group II contained resin acids (main components) and lignans in moderate amounts (up to 10.3%). Conversely, lignans (38.8-63.8%) were by far the major components of the 15 samples of Group III. Depending on the sample, the major component was pinoresinol (18.1-38.9%), lariciresinol (17.2-33.7%) or lariciresinol 9'-acetate (16.9-29.1%). Finally, due to the high biological interest in lignans, a rapid procedure, based on 1H NMR spectroscopy, was developed for quantification of lignans in resins of C. atlantica.