Isolation of Some Glucosides as Aroma Precursors from Ginger

A glycosidically bound fraction was prepared by adsorbing a 80% methanol extract from fresh rhizomes of ginger onto a column of Amberlite XAD-2 resin and successively eluting with ethyl acetate or methanol. Enzymatic hydrolysis of this fraction with an acetone powder prepared from fresh ginger and commercial glycosidase liberated such alcohols as geraniol, 2-heptanol, α-terpineol, nerol, linalool, and citronellol, suggesting that fresh ginger included glycosides and glycosidase. The ethyl acetate eluate was chromatographed by an ODS flash column and then HPLC to isolate the β-glucopyranosides of 5-hydroxyborneol, 1,8-epoxy-p-menthan-3-ol, (2E, 6E)- and (2E, 6Z)-3,7-dimethyl-8-hydroxyoctadien-1-ol, 2-heptanol, geraniol, nerol, (R)-linalool, and citronellol. All the glucosides, except for 5-hydroxybornyl-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, were identified for the first time in the rhizome of ginger, and many of their aglycons were major constituents of the essential oil. The results indicate that these glucosides are aroma precursors of fresh ginger.