• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.18-24
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• 2009

The volatile compounds of dried sancho (Zanthoxylum schinifolium), an aromatic plant were extracted by simultaneous distillation and extraction (SDE) method and identified by gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Selected chiral constituents of sancho oil were characterized by enantiodifferentiation using multidimensional gas chromatograph (MDGC)-MS. A total of 57 compounds were identified and quantified, and the major compounds were identified estragole, nonanoic acid, octanoic acid, $\beta$-phellandrenene, and limonene. Among them, estragol (63.9%) was found as the predominantly abundant component of sancho. $\alpha$-pinene and nerolidol, and $\beta$-pinene and linalool were determined to be enantiomerically pure (100%) for their (S)-form and (R)-form, respectively. The enantiomeric composition of limonene in sancho revealed 83.9% purity for the (S)-enantiomer, whereas (E)- and (Z)-rose oxides showed mixtures of both enantiomers. The enantiomeric excess (%) for citronellal was 22.6% with the (R)-enantiomer as major enantiomer. The enantiomeric composition of these compounds can be used as parameter for authenticity control of sancho.