Stereochemical profiling of essential oils from Cinnamomum Camphora using GC/MS: effects of sampling method and...

A dual-mode headspace and liquid GC-MS approach was employed to analyse the essential oil extract of Cinnamomum camphora variant grown in Taiwan. Two β-cyclodextrin GC columns (Cydex-B and Rt-βDEXsm™) were compared for chiral separation. A note that Rt-βDEXsm™ column showed superior resolution for borneol and camphor isomers, and reveals that (+) borneol (31.7%), eucalyptol (11.4%), and (+) camphor (8.4%) as the major constituents in the essential oil. Distinct chemical profiles emerged from each sampling mode, headspace detects light aroma active volatiles like (+)-α-pinene and (-)-camphene, whereas liquid sampling reveals heavier oxygenated compounds (borneol and camphor) and 13 additional analytes. Such differences in volatile profiles are particularly important for aromatherapy and inhalation-based applications. Analysis of commercial (+)-borneol revealed the presence of (-)-isoborneol, highlights the importance of careful assessment of reference materials in chiral analysis. The direct analysis of Cinnamomum camphora variant grown in Taiwan showed high percentage of (+)-borneol, which suggests that locally grown variant can serve as a dependable source of natural (+)-borneol to minimize imported raw materials and maintain high quality standards.