STUDIES ON ESSENTIAL OILS OF THE FAMILY LAURACEAE FROM YUNNAN Ⅱ.CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS OF THE ESSENTIAL OILS OF CINNAMOMUM PARTHENOXYLON MEISSN,AND CINNAMOMUM MOLLE H.W.LI,INED.

There are several subspecies of Cinnamomum parthenoxylon Meissn widely distribu- ted at the southern part of Yunnan, and rather wide differences have been observed about the chemical compositions of the essential oils derived from these camphor trees. Under the present investigation only the chemical compositions of the essential oils derived from two subspecies are reported here. (1) The leaf oil derived from subspecies Tsong-Woo consists chiefly of cineole, roughly sixty percent by weight. The other com- pounds confirmed are camphene, α-pinene, α-terpinene, p-cymene, linalool, α-terpineol, camphor, n-decylaldehyde, citral, and a sesquiterpene of the cadalene series. (2) The leaf oil derived from leather-leaved Tsong-Woo consists chiefly of monoterpenes. The chemical constituents confirmed are camphene, α-phellandrene, p-cymene, linalool, α- terpineol, camphor, cineole, eugenol, and a sesquiterpene of the cadalene series. Two types of essential oils derived from Cinnamomum molle H. W. Li, ined. were observed in the authors' laboratory, and each of the oils has a different chemical com- position. The present report deals only with the oil which consists mainly of aldehydes and ketones. The camphor content is about fifty percent of the oil by weight, while citral and methylheptenone amounts to fourty-two percent. The other chemical com- pounds confirmed are camphene, α-pinene, limonene, and cineole.