Locational comparison of essential oils from selected conifers of Himachal Pradesh

Nine samples of essential oil from needles of three conifers of Pinacea family namely Abies pindrow, Picea smithiana and Cedrus deodara collected from three different locations of Himachal Pradesh (India) were evaluated using gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. A total of 31, 17 and 13 compounds were identified from essential oil of A. pindrow, P. smithiana and C. deodara, respectively. Among the characterised components, monoterpenoid hydrocarbons were predominated. α-Pinene, β-pinene, β-merycene, limonene and camphene were characterised as major components. Oil of C. deodara has significant effect of location on its oil composition. Principle component analysis on gas chromatographic data reveals variation in chemical composition which may be attributed to altitude and environmental conditions.