Chemical analysis of volatile oils from West Himalayan Pindrow Fir Abies pindrow

The essential oil composition of needle and stem oils of Abies pindrow (Royle ex D.Don) Royle, commonly known as Pindrow or West Himalayan Fir, were analyzed by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Fifty-six constituents, accounting for 96.0% of needle and 83.5% of stem oil composition, were identified. The oils were characterized by a high content of monoterpenoids (68.9%-79.9%), mainly comprised by limonene (21.0%-34.4%), camphene (0.5%-19.9%), alpha-pinene (13.8%-16.8%), myrcene (6.7%-8.3%) and beta-pinene (6.5%-8.6%). Monoterpene hydrocarbons were predominant in both oils, but the quantitative and qualitative composition of the volatile constituents was specific for each part of the tree; and considerable variations in their terpenoid production pattern were also noticed. Results were compared with earlier reported fir species from different geographic regions.