Abies balsamea from balsam

Canadian fir needle oil (balsam fir oil) is produced in Canada and in several northern states of the United States from needles and twigs of Abies balsamea (L.) Mill. It is an almost colorless to pale yellow liquid with a pleasant balsamic odor. 

Fir Needle Oil, Canadian Type, occurs as a colorless to faintly yellow liquid with a pleasant, balsamic odor. It is the volatile oil obtained by steam distillation from needles and twigs of Abies balsamea L., Mill (Fam. Pinaceae). It is soluble in most fixed oils and in mineral oil. It is slightly soluble in propylene glycol, but it is insoluble in glycerin. 

From the balsam fir tree Abies balsamea, a sesquiterpenoid, juvabione (Figure 9), was isolated as a compound that has a JH activity that causes the last instar larvae of European linden bug, Pyrrhocoris apterus, to molt into nymphal-adultoid forms.58,59 Since then, a number of phytojuvenile hormones have been detected56 such as juvocimene I and II from the sweet basil Ocimum basilicum60,61... 

The feedstock was air-dry softwood bark obtained from a wood shredding plant. It was composed of approximately 31% v/v of balsam fir (Abies balsamea), 55% v/v white spruce (Picea giauca) and 14% v/v black sprace (Picea mariarta). The moisture content of e feedstock at the inlet of the reactor averaged 10.0% by wt. The... 

Juvabione, the compound responsible for this activity, was isolated from the balsam fir, Abies balsamea (L.) Miller, and identified as the methyl ester of todomatuic acid, (+)-4(i )-[ 1 R)-S -dimethyl-3 -oxohexyl]-1-cyclohexene-1-carboxylic acid [87]. This compound is a sesquiterpenoid (Fig. (6)) with a cyclohexene group and an a,(3-unsaturated methyl ester group the chemical data for this compound are summarized in Appendix II, Table 1. The IR spectrum suggests that there is a carbonyl ester group present in conjunction with a double bond (1722 and 1645 cm 1) and also an isolated carbonyl group (1712 cm 1) [87]. Mass spectroscopy confirms... 

Juvebione, paper factor a monocyclic sesquiterpene ester from the wood of the North American balsam fir (Abies balsamea). (-h)-J. is an oil, M, 266, [a] +79.5° (c = 3.5, CHCI3). J. was the first juvenile hormone isolated from a plant, and its structure was the first elucidated. It is specific for Pyrrhocoris apterus and only the dextrorotatory form is biologically active. The search for J. began when it was observed that filter paper made from the wood of the balsam fir contained a factor which produced developmental anomalies in the larvae of Pyrrhocoris. In addition to... 

Similar exudations from other trees have been used, for instance Venice turpentine from Larix decidua and Canada balsam from Abies balsamea (Mills and White, 1994). Their overall composition based on mono- and diterpenes and properties are similar, varying slightly with differences in composition. 

The so-called paper factor responsible for insect juvenile hormone (JH) activity of certain American papers has been identified (1966) as the bisabolane methyl ester, (-h)-juvabione (155), a constituent of balsam fir, Abies balsamea (416). As a matter of fact, the acid corresponding to 155, todomatuic acid (156), had been known earlier as a component of bisulfite-treated pulp oil of Abies sachalinensis (399). Juvabione and related compounds possessing JH activity have been isolated from several species of the family Pinaceae, including (-h)-A -dehydrotodomatuic acid (157) and 7-hydroxytodomatuic acid (158) from wood of Cedrus deodara (33). 

Balsams are sticky, clear exudates from wood and resin pockets in the bark of certain conifers. The most useful one, Canada balsam, has been obtained from Abies balsamea (2). Canada balsam is mainly used in microscopy. It is produced on a small scale from the gum exuded from the blister resin pockets in the winter. A similar product, Oregon balsam, was obtained from Pseudotsuga menziesii (2). Production and value data for Canada balsams are available only up 1965 (6) because of infrequently collected statistics. The amount produced in 1965 was over 51000 pounds. Sandermann (25) discussed the physical and chemical properties of 33 different balsams, their major components, and qualitative tests to distin-... 

Figure 1. A smectic A phase extended on the left-hand side, and showing defect lines in the form of conics a smectic rodlet and small germs are floating in the isotropic phase. The mesogenic product, 4-cyano-4 -n-octylbiphenyl (8CB), was added together with a small amount of Canada balsam, and the mixture was observed between crossed polarizers at room temperature. Canada balsam is an isotropic but optically active and fluid resin, extracted from the conifer Abies balsamea, which facilitates the production of regular smectic textures in several thermotropic liquids. Collophony, or rosin, is a stabilized pine tree resin, used to rub violin bows Friedel used this substance not only for his violin, but also to obtain remarkable smectic textures. Scale bar 20 pm.

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