Yields and constituents of essential oil from cones of Pinaceae spp. natively grown in Turkey

In this study, the yields and composition of essential oils obtained from the cones of Pinaceae family species natively grown in Turkey were investigated. Essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation. Oil yields were 0.13-0.48 mL/100 g in pine cones, 0.42-0.59 mL/100g in fir, 0.36 mL/100g in spruce and 0.37 mL/100g in cedar. While alpha-pinene (47.1-14.8%) was the main constituent of P. slyvestris, P. nigra and P. halepensis, limonene (62.8%) in P. pinea and beta-pinene (39.6%) in P. brutia were found in higher amounts. Like in P. pinea, limonene was the main compound in Cedrus libani (22.7%). In fir species the major compounds were alpha-pinene (70.6-53.0%) and beta-pinene (10.9-8.2%). Contrary to other species beta-pinene (32.7%) was found as a major compound in Picea orientalis.