Extractives in the cones of Pinus species

Amount and composition of lipophilic and hydrophilic extractives were analyzed in the cones of five coniferous species, namely Pinus halepensis, P. brutia, P. pinea, P. sylvestris and P. nigra, growing natively in Turkey. Lipophilic extractives amounts, identified by GC, were found to be the highest in P. brutia (35.1 mg g(-1)) and P. halepensis (31.3 mg g(-1)) while the lowest values were found in P. sylvestris (9.0 mg g(-1)). Resin acids were the major lipophilic group in all cones. The predominant resin acids were abietic acid in P. pinea, P. halepensis and P. brutia, dehydroabietic acid in P. sylvestris, and isopimaric acid in P. nigra. Compared to lipophilic extractives, the amount of total hydrophilic extractives showed similar gravimetric values while sugars and sugar alcohols were the dominant group.