Astudy on the Chemical Composition of the Oleo gum from Sudanese Boswellia Papyrifera

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%.