Abstract:
This study was done on Sudanese frankincense (olibanum) that
belongs to the family Burseraceae, genus Boswellia and species
Boswellia papyrifera.
In the study the essential oil was extracted, from sample collected
from the local market, using direct steam distillation technique. Twenty
five components of the extracted oil were identified using a gas
chromatograph coupled to a mass spectrometer (GC-MS), the major
constituent was found to be 2-ethyl hexyl acetate.
The water separated from the oil was also analyzed to identify the
aromatic material soluble in it; it was extracted with different solvents
and analyzed using IR and TLC techniques. The results, obtained, show
that the aromatic smell of this water was due to solubility of a small
amount of the oil.
The polymeric material remaining, after oil separation, was
hydrolyzed in acidic medium to identify sugars that are included in its
structure. The TLC technique employed to this purpose showed the
presence of glucuronic acid, galactose and arabinose.
The study results show that Frankincense of Sudanese origin differs
from that of Ethiopian origin of the same genus and species in the main
component of its essential oil. Where as the main component of
Ethiopian Frankincense is octyl acetate and constitutes 88%, it is
2-ethylhexyl acetate in the Sudanese one and it forms about 66%.
