Volatile Organic Nitrogen-Containing Constituents in Ambrette Seed Abelmoschus moschatus Medik (Malvaceae)

A detailed investigation of the basic fraction of a CO2 extract of ambrette seeds (Abelmoschus moschatus) revealed a total of 58 nitrogen-containing compounds. The identification of these compounds was carried out by GC-MS and NMR. All the identified nitrogen-containing compounds are reported here for the first time in ambrette seeds. Among these are 27 pyrazine derivatives and 12 pyridines, including the tentative identification of four new natural compounds, 1-(6-ethyl-3-hydroxypyridin-2-yl)ethanone (1), 1-(3-hydroxy-5,6-dimethylpyridin-2-yl)ethanone (2), 1-(3-hydroxy-6-methylpyridin-2-yl)ethanone (3), and 1-(3-hydroxy-5-methylpyridin-2-yl)ethanone (4). The odor of the basic fraction was assumed to be due to these pyrazines and pyridines and also the presence of seven thiazoles. The odors described suggest that these N-compounds contribute to what is described in perfumery terms as the “natural and rounded” character of the ambrette extract.