Abstract
The chemical composition of the essential oils obtained by steam distillation of fruits (follicles) of Magnolia fraseri Walt., M. tripetala L., M. acuminata L., and M. grandiflora L., collected in the Southeastern United States, were studied by GC/MS. A total of 35 out of 41 components were identified, most of which were monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes. Among the four investigated species, only few similarities in the compound patterns were found. The major constituents (> 10% of the essential oil) were found to be trans-nerolidol (20.0%) and 9-oxofarnesol (11.0%) in M. acuminata, β-pinene (26.3%) and β-myrcene (13.1%) in M. fraseri, β-elemene (12.2%) in M. grandiflora and bornyl acetate (17.0%), and β-caryophyllene (21.0%) and α-humulene in M. tripetala.