Chemical Composition of the Volatile Oil from the Roots of Selinum tenuifolium WALL.

The essential oil from the underground parts of Selinum tenuifolium Wall. (Apiaceae) was extracted by hydrodistillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus, and analyzed by GC/FID and GC/MS. Nine constituents, representing 97.7% of the total oil, were identified, five of which belong to the class of polyacetylenes. The structures of the compounds 15 were elucidated by using IR, MS, and 1H- and 13C-NMR data after purification by column chromatography. The major constituent detected was nona-3,5-diyne (1; 85.6% of the total volatiles), followed by nona-3,5-diyn-2-one (2), nona-4,6-diyn-3-one (3), nona-3,5-diyn-2-ol (4), and nona-4,6-diyn-3-ol (5), accounting for 3.0, 2.5, 2.2, and 3.1% of the total volatiles, respectively. The latter four polyacetylenes, 25, were never reported in plants so far, and, therefore should be regarded as novel compounds.