Quality Evaluation of Agarwood Volatile Oil by ¹H-NMR Combined with GC-MS

OBJECTIVE To analyze the domestic and imported agarwood from different tree species, and the change in chemical composition before and after the volatile oil was prepared by steam distillation. To evaluate the quality of agarwood volatile oil. METHODS The ¹H-NMR fingerprint was established, and the metabolites were identified by chemical shift information, and the chemical pattern recognition was carried out by using the peak area after subsection integration of ¹H-NMR as a variable. The GC-MS fingerprint was established, and the chemical components and their relative contents were identified by peak area normalization method. Chemical pattern recognition was carried out by using GC-MS full spectrum fragment information as variables. RESULTS Twenty-four and twenty metabolites were calibrated with ¹H-NMR fingerprints of agarwood volatile oil and its raw material respectively. The GC-MS fingerprints of agarwood volatile oil and its raw material identified 64 and 112 metabolites, respectively, and both classified into domestic and imported species according to the origin. The relative contents of sesquiterpenoids increased after the agarwood volatile oil was extracted by steam distillation. Agarospirol and a-guaiene contributed more to the grouping of agarwood volatile oil, but hinesol, 4-phenyl-2-butanone, and γ-selinene contributed little. CONCLUSION For the same extraction conditions, the quality of agarwood volatile oil is effected to its original tree species. The quality markers of domestic and imported agarwood volatile oil can provide basic data for its quality evaluation.