Sclareol isomers

The GC-MS and HPLC analyses of oils from Salvia sclarea provided a comparative analysis profile of different plant materials. Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (e.g., germacrene D and (3-caryophyllene), monoterpene alcohols (e.g., ot-terpineol), diterpenoids (mainly sclareol), monoterpene hydrocarbons (e.g., myrcene, limonene, and the two ocimene isomers), and the principal components (linalyl acetate and linalool) were analyzed. 

The formation of a common manool trihydrochloride from manool, sclareol, manoyl oxide, 13-epimanoyl oxide, biformene, and abienol played an important part in the structural correlation between these diterpenes. Earlier proposals had suggested an 8-equatorial chlorine atom, but in a paperclarifying the various 8,13,15-chloro-labdanes, the analogous monohydrochloride from tetra-hydroabienol was assigned the 8-axial stereochemistry (8). Dehydrochlorination of this isomer yields all three expected olefins, whilst the equatorial epimer affords only the and A -olefins. 

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