Alpha-terpinyl acetate

Thymus vulgaris L. She Xiang Cao (Thyme) (aerial part) Tymol, terpinen-4-ol, pinenes, camphene, myrcene, alpha-phellandrene, limonene, 1,8-cineol, p-cymene, linalool, linalyl acetate, bomyl acetate, alpha-terpinyl acetate, alpha-terpineol, borneol, citral, geraniol, carvacrol.50 510 Anthelmintic, antispasmodic, carminative, diaphoretic, sedative. Treat bronchitis, cancer, diarrhea, gastritis, rheumatism, skin ailments. 

Cardamom is native to Southern India and Ceylon, but is also grown in Middle America. Cardamom seeds contain about 3 to 8% volatile oil, with about 25 to 40% of cineol, 30 to 40% alpha-terpinyl acetate and 1 to 2% limonene. 

Differences in linalool and linalyl acetate content were ascribed to the state of the plant material on distillation. In the USA and Italy, the plant material is freshly harvested, chopped and distilled within a few hours, whereas in France and the Russian countries, the harvested material is air-dried prior to distillation. The excess moisture which is associated with processing of fresh plant material could lead to the major constituent, linalyl acetate, hydrolyzing to linalool, probably facilitated by an increased pH of the medium during distillation [8]. The presence of a large amount of alpha-terpinyl acetate in the essential oil extracted from S. sclarea plants of Italian origin was reported [6]. 

In relation to the composition, these authors reported that the ester component, between 27.3% and 61.1%, was characterized mainly by linalyl acetate and alpha-terpinyl acetate. Linalyl acetate was the highest component of the oil obtained from flowering leaves and upper part in toto but was in much lower concentrations in oil from non flowering leaves. 

The alpha-terpinyl acetate concentration was practically the same in all parts of the plant (18.0-20.3%). The alcohols, making up about 13.0-42.8%, were mainly linalool and alpha-terpineol, the former being more abundant in flowering leaves and in the upper part in toto while the latter was found in higher quantities in other samples (about 40%). 

As regards composition, the ester fraction was most abundant in the plants from the Sassari station (62.4% of the oil in toto), while it was much lower in the samples from Orosei (38.2%). The main esters were li-nalyl acetate and alpha-terpinyl acetate in each case, the former more abundant in the oil from the samples grown in a calcareous area (42.5% of the oil in toto) while the latter was found in all the samples in concentrations of between 17.5 and 22.4%. The alcohol component was higher in samples collected in the Orosei station (38.9%) and much lower in the Sassari samples (9.4%). The most abundant alcohols were linalool and alpha-terpineol. 

Alpha terpinyl acetate, l 8-cineole, linalol, alpha terpineol. 

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