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As an alternative to fossil volatile hydrocarbon solvents used nowadays in perfumery, investigation on essential oil of Commiphora wildii Merxm. oleo gum resin as a source of heptane is reported here. Heptane, representing up to 30 wt-% of this oleo gum resin, was successfully isolated from the C. wildii essential oil, using an innovative double distillation process. Isolated heptane was then used as a solvent in order to extract some noble plants of perfumery. It was found that extracts obtained with this solvent were more promising in terms of sensory analysis than those obtained from fossil-based heptane. In addition, in order to valorize the essential oil depleted from heptane, chemical composition of this oil was found to obtain, and potential biological activity properties were studied. A total of 172 different compounds were identified by GC-MS in the remaining oil. In vitro tests—including hyaluronidase, tyrosinase, antioxidant, elastase and lipoxygenase, as well as inhibitory tests against two yeasts and 21 bacterial strains commonly found on the skin—were carried out. Overall, bioassays results suggest this heptane-depleted essential oil is a promising active ingredient for cosmetic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new procedure based on gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was developed for the simultaneous determination of mono- to triterpenoid compounds in resinous materials. Given the difference of volatility and polarity of the studied compounds some critical steps in this methodology had to be identified and investigated. The recovery of volatile compounds after sample extraction was studied. A recovery range from 30% to 100% from the more volatile monoterpene to the least one was observed. Then the mandatory derivatization step for the analysis of pentacyclic triterpenes bearing hydroxyl and carboxyl groups was optimized. Results showed that derivatization using N , O -bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA) and trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS) in pyridine (22:13:65 v/v/v) for 2 h at 30 °C was the most efficient method of derivatizing all the hydroxyl and carboxylic acid groups contained in the triterpene structures. After choosing the best injection parameters for these compounds, the selectivity of the GC column towards the separation of these terpenoids was investigated using statistical tools (principal component analysis and desirability functions). A separation with a good resolution was achieved on an HP-5ms column using a programmed temperature vaporizing injector (PTV). The method was pre-validated in terms of detection limits (LOD from 100 μg L −1 to 200 μg L −1 depending on the compound), linearity and repeatability using seven compounds representative of mono- and triterpenoid classes. An exhaustive characterization of various types of resins (di-, triterpenic and oleo-gum resins) was achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]