Enantiomeric composition of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons of the essential oil of <i>Cedrela odorata</i> L

Abstract

Abstract A combination of capillary columns with conventional and chiral stationary phases in a double‐oven gas chromato‐graph (two‐dimensional gas chromatography) was employed to investigate the enantiomeric composition of several sesquiterpene hydrocarbons in the essential oil of Cedrela odorata L. Enantiomeric mixtures of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons were prepared as references by isolation of individual enantiomers of opposite configuration from higher plants and liverworts (Hepaticae). Enantioselective gas chromatography using heptakis(2,6‐di‐ O ‐methyl‐3‐ O ‐pentyl)‐β‐cyclodextrin as a chiral stationary phase led to the classification of the sesquiterpene hydrocarbons of Cedrela odorata in four groups. The first group included sesquiterpene hydrocarbons with high enantiomeric purity, the second group those with low enantiomeric purity, the third group compounds enriched with the unusual enantiomer, and the fourth group optically inactive (achiral and racemic) compounds.