Volatiles from Zostera marina

The essential oil from the shoots of the marine embryophyte, Zostera marina was prepared by simultaneous distillation-extraction. Volatile compounds in the oil were identified by GC and GC-mass spectrometry. The major constituents were phytol, hexadecanamide, octadecanamide, pentadecane, heptadecane, nonadecane, (8 Z , 11 Z )-heptadecadienal (HDD), (8 Z )-heptadecenal (HD), (9 Z , 12 Z , 15 Z )-octadecatrienal and (9 Z , 12 Z )-octadecadienal. HDD and HD were shown to be formed enzymatically from linoleic acid and oleic acid, respectively.